Willi Gayler

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Willi Gayler (born December 12, 1906 in Langenbrand, today Schömberg-Langenbrand , † June 9, 2001 ) was a German forester . He is one of the most well-known representatives of the concept of " natural forest management " and one of the founders of the Working Group on Natural Forest Management (ANW) , which he headed from 1971 to 1981 as federal chairman. In the consistent implementation of the ANW principles, Oberforstrat Gayler, as head of the Mönchsberg State Forestry Office, significantly shaped the face of the Mainhardt Forest after the Second World War.

Life

Willi Gayler was born on December 12, 1906 as the son of the Protestant pastor Emil Gayler in the rectory of Langenbrand in the northern Black Forest . Thanks to the family's friendship with the forester Dr. Julius Eberhard's interest in the forest , especially the silver fir and structured mixed forests, was aroused and shaped early on . As a result, Gayler studied forest sciences at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna . He completed his legal clerkship in what would later become the state of Baden-Württemberg and joined the state forest service. During the Second World War he headed the Lorraine forestry offices in Dagsburg and Pfalzburg .

As head of the state forest office in Mönchsberg, Willi Gayler took care of the maintenance of the Mainhardt forest

In 1948 Willi Gayler was appointed head of the Mönchsberg State Forestry Office in the municipality of Mainhardt , which he was in charge of until he retired in 1971. Motivated by the idea of permanent forests and convinced of the need to abandon the concept of age- group forests, in 1950 he was one of the founding members of the Working Group on Natural Forest Management, whose cradle was in nearby Schwäbisch Hall . In the forests entrusted to him, he implemented the principles of the ANW in an exemplary manner during the following decades - not only in the state forest, but also in the farm forest , whose owners he was also able to win over to the ideas of "natural forest management". He was still committed to advising the Bauernwald in retirement. Gayler thus significantly shaped the face of the Mainhardt Forest .

As national chairman of the ANW from 1971 to 1981, the group and its convictions not only gained importance in terms of forest policy , but also many new members. In 1981, Willi Gayler founded the ANW regional group Baden-Württemberg and headed it for ten years. The ANW and its regional group each appointed him honorary chairman. However, Gayler's charisma and that of the ANW ideas had an impact far beyond Germany and found imitators in other countries. In 1989, Gayler suggested the establishment of the “Association of nature-oriented forest people - Pro Silva Europe” and thus made a significant contribution to ensuring that the principles of “natural forest management” became valid throughout Europe.

In 1984 the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn awarded Gayler the silver Alexander von Humboldt Medal for nature conservation from the Alfred Toepfer Foundation FVS for his services to “natural forest management” and the farm forest . On the occasion of his 90th birthday in 1996 he received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon .

Oberforstrat i. R. Willi Gayler died after a brief illness on June 9, 2001 at the age of 94.

literature

  • Karl-Heinz Lieber: Oberforstrat i. R. Willi Gayler passed away . In: Forst und Holz , 52nd volume, issue 3/1997, pp. 501–502, ISSN  0932-9315
  • Authors: Presentation of the van Tienhoven Prize 1984 to Jose A. Valverde, the Alexander von Humboldt Gold Medal to Rudolf H. Müller and the Alexander von Humboldt medals in silver Willi Gayler etc. . FVS Foundation, Hamburg 1984, 30 (VIII) pp.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b History of the ANW - Chairwoman of the ANW Germany. (No longer available online.) At: www.anw-deutschland.de , archived from the original on June 19, 2015 ; Retrieved June 18, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.anw-deutschland.de
  2. ^ A b c Karl-Heinz Lieber: Oberforstrat i. R. Willi Gayler passed away . In: Forst und Holz , 52nd year, issue 3/1997, p. 501
personal data
SURNAME Gayler, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German forester
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Langenbrand, today Schömberg-Langenbrand
DATE OF DEATH June 9, 2001