The forestry industry in Switzerland is in a bad way, with timber yields barely covering the costs. In Lucerne, the authorities and the forest owners' association are now eyeing the wallets of mountain bikers. The idea is to charge "an advance user fee for forest trails" when mountain bikes are purchased.

Wood brings no money, the bikers should fix it

The idea of asking mountain bikers to pay comes from Bruno Röösli, Head of the Forest Department at the Agriculture and Forestry Service in the canton of Lucerne. He floated the idea on Saturday at a meeting of the forest owners' association. Every year, around 100,000 new mountain bikes are sold in Switzerland - and a fixed amount could now flow directly into the forestry sector. The money should also go to the private forestry sector, which is not responsible for the construction and maintenance of hiking trails in Switzerland. However, forest owners recognize that such a demand is likely to be difficult to implement.
The forestry industry is currently looking for solutions to survive with ever lower timber prices. Not just in Lucerne. In Aargau, cantonal contributions are to be tripled, while in Bern the aim is to generate a higher income with a (voluntary) forest vignette. And in the canton of Solothurn, each municipality pays 5 francs per inhabitant into a pot for forest owners.

Tax on sneakers and sausages too?

The latest approach is now to ask mountain bikers to pay. This is understandable from a forestry perspective, but it will probably remain nothing more than an anecdote. If such a tax were levied, it would inevitably lead to a host of almost insoluble follow-up questions. If mountain bikers pay, why not trekking cyclists who are also out and about in the woods? And what do hikers pay? Nothing or not so much? And joggers, will there soon be a sneaker tax here? And what happens to horse and rider? And then there are the dogs: should part of the dog tax also go directly to forestry? The barbecue parties in the forest? Will a portion of the sausage tax soon also go to the forest owners?

Further information on this in the Luzerner Zeitung report:
http://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/nachrichten/zentralschweiz/luzern/Waldbesitzer-suchen-Einnahmen;art9647,1007777