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Hang-gliders in legal battle with canton

The Gottschalkenberg mountain in Zug used to be an ideal spot for local hang-gliders, who would set off from Bellevue, but since 2006, the canton of Zug has banned them from the area. The reason for this is that the trees in the area were too high, so the hang-gliders either felled or capped them, and that is now forbidden by the cantonal forestry department. The canton is now looking at choosing the spot to build an observation deck, to the outrage of the hang-gliders.
 
The case has now been taken to the Zug courts, with 67-year-old delta plane instructor Thomas Kehren (photo) and the Swiss Hang-gliding Association (SHV) fighting for their right to use the spot, which is ideal for take-off and has perfect winds. Since they have been banned from using Bellevue, they have tended to go to Ägeri, where the landing area is far more difficult to master for learners, making it dangerous.
 
The crux of the matter now is the fact that the forestry department is looking at capping certain trees to build an observation deck for walkers, with Martin Winkler of the department originally maintaining that hang-gliding would require the removal of too many trees and would be against the principles of good forest husbandry, though he has since retracted his original statements now that the case has become a legal matter. "The canton is happy to sacrifice wood for an observation deck but not for our starting place," said Kehren. "This must be come kind of joke. We should have bought chainsaws five years ago, chopped down the trees that we needed to, paid a hefty fine and we would still have been better off than now, what with the legal fees which have already cost us CHF 20,000. And we would have been able to get back in the air."
 
The case will now be decided by a local judge.

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