European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 6, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9over Here a amps Jim Derheim Trees ripped out of the ground by Hurricane Force winds litter Forest floors in Central Germany adding to the problem of Woods already fighting for  further stunt sickly German forests by Mary Neth staff writer mgr Felden West Germany a forester Horst Klier surveys the rows of Trees toppled by Europe a fifth wind storm in five weeks and worries about the future of Germany a already ailing Woods. A another Wiebke and there will be no Forest a a he said. Wiebke the German name for the most recent disastrous Gale brought winds of up to 93 Mph last week and felled millions of Trees in its path. A nothing like this has happened in the last 250 years a said Klier who directs a forestry office just South of Rhein main a. Before the last Hurricane like blast Klier had hoped the worst of the Winters unusual storms was Over. He said that in six weeks All the debris could be put aside. Then Wiebke struck and the forester was faced with a scene out of science fiction. Huge Trees broken like matchsticks Lay strewn Over mile Long areas of the Forest floor. Now he expects it will take at least a year to Clear away the felled Trees. Klier estimates that he must help Clear about 1.2 million cubic feet of Wood a More than the 875,000 cubic feet generally felled in his Forest for commercial sales in a whole year. The same situation faces foresters throughout Europe. The total count Isnit in but an estimated 3 million Trees were downed in England. Within West Germany the state of Saarland alone reported a loss of 1 million Trees. All this follows years of troubling tree developments. According to the West German Forest ministry 52.4 percent of the country a Trees covering 18.28 million acres were sick in 1989. Particularly hard hit Are the mountains in the midsection of West Germany and the Alps where 85 percent of the Trees Are blighted. In some of those areas whole hilltops stand starkly denuded of once Lush Woodland. In the aftermath of Wiebke experts Are debating what the storms damage will mean to the sick forests. Or. Hartmuth Herbsleb of the West German ministry for food farming and forests does not believe the destruction amounts to an environmental disaster. A a it a mainly an economic problem a Herbsleb said. A the Wood from the months felled Trees adds up to the Normal quota for a whole year which will cause the prices to  the government however will quickly protect the a acid rain and air pollution have destroyed the balance of nature. People Are not however going Back to the Good Ola Days when rooms were barely heated and there was no High Speed Highway  a Horst Klier forests by ruling that no More Trees can be felled this year he noted. Irene Soltwedel of the environmental party the greens disagrees with Herbsleb. A a it a a National catastrophe a said Soltwedel who represents Wiesbaden in the Hessen state legislature. In Hessen for instance 175 million cubic feet of Wood must be quickly removed from the forests or treated she said. If not the dead Trees will become Breeding grounds for bark beetles which already cause millions of damage to forests every year. The Best solution is to stack the dead Trees and keep them sprayed with water Soltwedel said. A if chemicals Are used to combat the beetles the ground water will receive a Bath of Poison. Which will Lead to further debilitation of Forest growth a she said. Klier however sees no alternative to using Poison on most of the Trees in his Forest. A i have not used it in this area now for 13 years but now we Are faced with a race against time a he said. He noted that Stone Pine and Beech Woods Discolour within six weeks. Such Woods then can be sold Only for a minimal Price. Spruce however does keep longer and can be conserved by the spraying method he said. A we have Little Spruce Here though a he said. A the local Forest is mostly Stone Pine and  stripping the dead Trees of bark would be another Way to eliminate the Beetle danger the forester  there Are however no companies that can take on the massive Job that now is needed. It also would be too expensive to drag All the dead Trees from the  while he works Klier Hopes the last wind storm of the Winter has blown itself out. A the already poor condition of the Forest however will spell its death if there is another such storm a he said. A the roots of Many of the still standing Trees Are already rotted. Some Are leaning out so far that their roots Are exposed which Means More rotting will occur. A to than signs of illness Are increasing loss of Needles from the evergreens and smaller yellow coloured leaves on the deciduous  even if another storm does no to blow in this year. Klier is not optimistic about the future. A acid rain and air pollution have destroyed the balance of nature a he said. A people Are not. However going to go Back to the Good old Days when rooms were barely heated Ana there was no High Speed Highway travel. They a so expect to Fly off in an air plane a couple of times a year on vacation.�?�. A a he predicted a with 100 percent probability that cars soon May be prohibited from travelling through Many of Germany a forests. In a sense it already has happened. Because of the danger of fallen and falling Trees Many areas Are closed for an unspecified time