Bad Tölz (dpa / lby) - Canoeing and rafting on the Isar south of Munich is prohibited at certain times of the year. The Bavarian Administrative Court rejected norm control applications against a regulation in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, as the court announced on Thursday. The judges thus confirmed the seasonal bans on driving on the Isar for nature conservation reasons.
In summer you can go canoeing, kayaking and rubber dinghy on the wild river. According to the regulation that has been in force since 2019, they are allowed to drive in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen from June 1st to October 15th, from Bad Tölz downstream to the district of Munich additionally until December 31st.
Private individuals as well as the Bavarian Canoe Association and the Bavarian Individual Paddler Association had opposed the regulation. They argued that there was no evidence that canoeing had any significant disruption to the spawning process in fish. The seasonal restriction is disproportionate.
The judges saw no violation of the principle of proportionality. An abstract danger to the fish and bird fauna would suffice. A concrete proof of disturbances is not necessary. The protection of nature is an overridingly important common good of constitutional status. Boating is a leisure activity for which there are alternatives.
The district office issued further rules in 2019 due to overflowing river festivals. The 0.5 alcohol limit applies to boaters, glass bottles and loud music are taboo. Amplifiers are forbidden, as are dinghies, for example for beer: so that the trip doesn't get too dry, some people pulled a small boat with them for the crate of beer. Children up to the age of twelve must wear life jackets, and there should be silence on the river from 8:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.: No night driving.
There are already positive effects, said a spokeswoman for the district office. Fish stocks and the gravel breeder population have stabilized. Around a dozen rangers monitor the rules.
