The highlanders are afraid of the government’s plans. One entry was enough
Residents of Podhale are worried that politicians have recently become interested in their area again. As they tell Onet, they were particularly concerned about Minister Paulina Henning-Kloska’s entry.
On November 2, Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Henning-Kloska published a seemingly irrelevant entry on her Facebook account. “The Nowotarsko-Orawskie Marshes are the largest complex of raised bogs in Poland. This area, unique in Europe, is home to many rare species of animals and plants. There are peat mosses, sedges and marsh cranberries. It is also a refuge for wetland birds, such as cranes, black terns and black grouses,” she informed.
Peat bogs protected by inclusion in the TPN? Highlanders in fear
“The Nowotarsko-Orawskie peatbogs also play an extremely important role as natural retention reservoirs, they protect against floods and droughts. During droughts, they act as water reservoirs, and during heavy rains they absorb excess water like a sponge,” she continued.
“During my last visit to Podhale, together with the Mayor of the Czarny Dunajec commune, Marcin Ratułowski, and employees of RDOŚ in Krakow, we discussed further protection of these extremely important areas,” she went to the heart of the policy.
It is precisely in the concept of this “protection” that the highlanders find problems. They suspect that this is a return of the already known idea of including peat bogs in the Tatra National Park. This was first reported at the turn of 2023 and 2024. However, then the councilors protested because the area was already protected by the Natura 2000 program.
It was then explained that local farmers use some of the described areas to plant corn and grain. They also mow the grass and cut down trees for firewood from their plots, which they will not be able to do in the national park.
— We don’t want a national park here. This is no benefit, only problems. However, we are afraid that despite this, these areas will be included in the TPN by force – residents of the area told Onet. – Someone is very passionate about including Baligówka in the TPN – Paweł Dziubek, a councilor from Czarnodunajec from the PiS club, confirmed the concerns in an interview with Onet.
Does Poland 2050 need a national park?
Onet notes that Poland 2050 badly needs any success, and it went to the elections with slogans of defending nature. She also raised the argument in the campaign that no new national park has been created in Poland for 24 years.
– And the highlanders? The minister has already deceived us once. First, in May 2024, she told the fiacros from Morskie Oko that they could rest assured about their work. 10 months later, the ministry kicked them out of a large part of the trail and made them a de facto “subcontractor” of TPN – said an anonymous politician from Podhale.
— The opinion about highlanders in Poland today is such that many compatriots will applaud the expropriation of a forest in Czarny Dunajec “for national purposes”, even despite local protests – he added.
In an interview with the portal, Minister Henning-Kloska strongly denied that she had any plans to expand the Tatra National Park.
