Published on 18 July 2024

Recycling on the Turtmann training area

On the former Turtmann military airfield at the foot of the Valais Alps, new levees are providing additional safety against falling rock. Apart from the Forces, the native fauna is also benefiting from the project. This is because armasuisse Real Estate has used synergies to create wetlands in parallel to the dams. These create a valuable habitat for water frogs, for example, thus strengthening biodiversity in the region.

Pia Bergamaschi, SA UNS, armasuisse Real Estate

The levees were created completely from the material cleared away from the new wetlands. This increases the safety of the area and the local wildlife is benefiting from the newly created habitats. — Protective dam on the Turtmann training area. — © Bina SA

New levees are created from the residual material of the ponds (bottom left). The rockfall protection dams (top right) protect the barracks from falling boulders. — Aerial view of the Turtmann training area. — © Bina SA

With the combined projects, 300m3 material was recycled and transport costs were saved. New inhabitants can already be found in the newly created pond as well as the branch piles and cairns. — Pond on the Trutmann training area. — © Bina SA

Various trees and bushes were felled to make room for the levees. The material for the branch piles comes from the resulting waste wood. — Pile of branches on the Trutmann training area. — © Bina SA

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The Turtmann training area is embedded between the Rhone in the north and the imposing Valais Alps in the south. Soldiers use the former military airfield today for driving training and for position exercises. A rock face several hundred metres high stretches up at the southern end of the training area. The existing netting and walls provide protection against pieces of rock that become detached from time to time. The four newly established levees also offer additional safety against damage of any kind. The measures to promote biodiversity are part of the Nature – Landscape – Armed Forces programme (NLA).

New inhabitants on the training area

In early 2024, the excavated material for the levees was dug out over a 200 metre long area. Four excavation pits remained, which were then transformed into wetlands by local professionals. The measures to promote biodiversity yielded quick results. Just a few weeks later, the first water frogs and water beetles had settled in the ponds.

From residual material to a habitat

To create the space for levees, trees and bushes were also felled. The residual material of these plants was piled up and thus recycled directly at the location both economically and with low transport costs. The branch piles in turn – in addition to the wetlands – serve as a valuable habitat for various insects.

The Nature – Landscape – Armed Forces programme (NLA)

For 20 years the DDPS has been identifying and preserving species diversity and habitats on its sites, and encouraging them where it is reasonable to do so. This commitment pays off! As a consequence of the measures taken, habitats and species on the endangered list are found more commonly on shooting ranges, military training areas and airfields than in the rest of the country. The geodata from the NLA programme can now be found in its own map layer on the federal platform map.geo.admin.