Many decades ago, the extensive plain of the Welser Heide was already in the sights of military strategic desires. Around 1890, in the north of the town of Wels, in what was then the municipality of Pernau, an exorcism and training area was laid out for the K&K army units stationed here. But just a few years later, aviation enthusiasts "became aware of the wide, fairly treeless area", which was "magnificently" suited for the construction of an airfield. In 1910, the first hangar was built, which served as a base for the airship association.

In 1933, the go-ahead was given for the expansion of a military airfield, which was massively intensified after the German takeover in 1939. The area was considerably enlarged by relocating numerous houses and farms. were relocated.

After the end of the Second World War, large areas of the site were taken over by the Austrian army (tank training area, barracks, etc.), and the Wels sports flying club „Weisse Möwe“ was given the hangar and airfield for long-term use. use. In recent years, the airfield has been surrounded on three sides by residential and commercial areas. The close proximity also led to tensions between local residents and aviation enthusiasts, which could only be partially defused. could be defused. Most recently, the Sportfliegerverein was faced with another concern: Parts of the airfield have come into the crosshairs of the business community, which is using the vision of business relocations and job creation to win over local politicians. local politicians to their side with the vision of business relocations and job creation. However, an „amputated“ airfield could mean the end of flight operations.

In this situation, the Wels air sports enthusiasts have surprisingly received support from nature conservation, which otherwise keeps a critical distance. In the recently published „Zeitschrift für Ökologie, Natur- und Umweltschutz“ (published by the (published by the Natural History Station of the City of Linz), the scientific authors Alexander Schuster, Michael Strauch and Martin Plasser have published a well-founded study on the great ecological importance of the Wels airfield as a valuable piece of reclaimed Wels heathland. This deserves special protection as a refuge and area of hope for endangered animal and plant species.

The green areas of the airfield, with their typical rough pastures and semi-arid grasslands, provide the ideal habitat for numerous creatures and plants that were originally native to the Welser Heide, but have since been largely displaced. have been largely displaced.

The rescue of this habitat is particularly praised by the authors: „At this stage, when the importance of the area was likely to dwindle, something completely unexpected happened: the Weisse Möwe Wels Lilac Club, inspired by nature-loving staff and members, decided to start an ecology project. nature-loving employees and members, decided to start an ecology project.“ An agreement was reached with the managers of the meadows to refrain from fertilizing the areas and to limit the number of annual mowings. The loss of yield is borne by the airfield operator.

The success of these measures was unique: a variety of different plants soon developed on the natural soil, which in turn became a food source for insects and butterflies that had become rare. „With consistent, fertilizer-free cultivation, it is only a matter of time before even more and rarer species become established,“ predicted the naturalists in their study.

They were delighted to see that, for example, the Eurasian curlew, a ground-nesting bird threatened with extinction in Austria, has settled at the airfield with several breeding pairs. The favorable food supply on the adjacent army tank training area may be one reason for this. Obviously they do not feel disturbed by the flight operations, while the predators of the ground breeders (birds of prey, foxes etc.) are deterred. Other bird species such as the rare whinchat, crested lark, lapwing, quail and partridge have also reclaimed the airfield as a habitat.

Profile: Swift

• Family: Sailors
• Occurrence: Europe and Asia (summer) southern Africa (winter)
• Size: 16-18 cm, up to 44 cm wingspan
• Habitat: Cities, villages, likes to breed on high buildings
• Food: Insects
• Breeding season: May - July (2-3 eggs)
• Scientific name: Apus Apus

A life in the air

• Hunting in flight - eating in flight
• Mating in flight - sleeping in flight
• Mostly traveling in shoals
• Juveniles spend the first 2 years until sexual maturity exclusively in flight
• Landing only for breeding
• Nesting material consists only of material that can be collected in flight
• Extremely loyal to the location