Storm cleanup leaves deep tracks in Šventybrastis reserve

Heavy machinery used to clear storm damage left deep ruts and damaged paths in the Šventybrastis Landscape Reserve, prompting a resident to question whether the work caused further harm. LRT reported, citing the local publication Rinkos aikštė.

The resident said healthy trees had been cut, the forest floor had been heavily disturbed and the natural ground surface damaged. Photos showed deep tyre tracks in wet grass, a broken concrete step and a muddy path leading to the reserve’s famous Šventybrastis oaks.

Vilainiai eldership head Kristina Vainauskienė said work on September 18 and 21 was needed to remove hazards left by a severe storm in late summer. She said workers removed fallen trees that posed no protection concerns from the road to the oaks, which are visited by pilgrims, and collected branches. She denied that healthy, protected or landscape-significant trees had been cut or pruned.

Vainauskienė said the work was allowed under municipal and national rules on green spaces and land-use conditions, and did not require a special permit. She said the reserve’s protected natural features had not been harmed.

The eldership said the ruts were a temporary result of poor weather and heavy rain, and that it would repair them when conditions allowed.