Ipf in Baden-Württemberg

The Ipf near Bopfingen is a so-called outlier of the Swabian Jura. In 1982, the summit area of the Ipf with a territory of 71 hectares was designated as a nature reserve. At the end of the 19th century, the mountain was still completely free of trees. In the following years, there was some afforestation with non-native spruce trees. Today, efforts are being made to slowly reduce these trees again. The area is also of archaeological interest. Hence, there are efforts to designate the Ipf as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Twenty years ago, the protected area was still home to the blue-winged grasshopper, but today it is almost impossible to find. Many swallowtails could be observed on the plateau during the summer months. Unfortunately, at the instigation of local politicians, the Ipf has been heavily developed for tourism for some years now, and this unique natural environment is under massive threat.

Werner Gottstein is the treasurer of “BUND Baden-Württemberg” and the regional chair of the BUND in the Ostalbkreis district (www.bund-ostwuerttemberg.de). His main interest are the effects of road construction and traffic, but he is also busy with the problems of factory farming on behalf of BUND. He is involved in the various working groups of the BUND national association. By profession Werner Gottstein is a chemical engineer and will be working on the development of wood adhesives until mid-2022. Since he moved to Bopfingen 23 years ago, he has always been fascinated bey the Ipf mountain, which is as a local landmark actually untouchable.

On his holidays, he has cycled along more than 10 European rivers and since 2016, he has been on the road on the various routes of the Way of St James in Europe. His longest travel reaches from Bopfingen to Santiago de Compostela and back again - over 5,200 km through four countries.

Comment on the work at DINA: "In the middle of 2020, I took over the care of the insect traps at the Ipf from another volunteer, who unfortunately went to Ulm to study. It was always interesting for me to observe how many people hiked up the Ipf on Sunday, almost a mass migration. It was always nice to be approached by people and then explain what we were doing here. Many children were curious about the contents of the bottles and showed interest in the insects caught. It was good that I had a little knowledge about moths and insects, so that I could at least explain something and thus quench the thirst for knowledge of the children and adults.” (W. Gottstein)