Lake Egelsee visitor guidance concept: Nature conservation and water law submission documents

Associated persons Susanne Glatz-Jorde
Clients Municipality Spittal an der Drau, Carinthia
Regions Austria
Year 2019

Some nine hectares in size, Lake Egelsee located at the Hochgosch ridge in the municipality of Spittal an der Drau, is characterised by a natural moor landscape. It is surrounded by quaking bogs of approximately 3.6 hectares, providing a habitat for rare and endangered species such as the pygmy damselfly or sundew. The western part of this small moor lake has been used by swimmers for a while. The jetties there were once built without a nature conservation permit. The municipality would now like to create a legally compliant state and we are working on a submission concept for the new visitor infrastructure (fences, paths, access footbridges, bathing jetties, benches) that can be approved and will be coordinated with the authorities. On the, from a nature conservation perspective, sensitive lakeshore, which is completely taken up by endangered biotope types, we have to carefully include the old stock of visitor infrastructure into our calculations in order to meet the official requirements. Within the framework of the narrowly defined specifications, we are also developing a concept for visitor guidance and long-term preservation of the, from a nature conservation perspective, sensitive areas of this popular gem. The plan is subsequently coordinated with the landowners and submitted to the authorities.