Germany saves forest from mining, US opens land to drilling
Key takeaways
- Germans have won a fight to keep a coal mine out of an ancient forest.
- Locals and environmentalists have been fighting for 50 years to keep the woodland — which sits between the western German towns of Aachen and Cologne — from becoming an open-pit coal mine.
- Now the fight is finally coming to a close, with about 14% of the original forest still intact.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Germans have won a fight to keep a coal mine out of an ancient forest. In the US, the government is opening protected lands for drilling and development.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Fia IAn aerial view of occupied treehouses in the Hambach Forest, with the open-pit lignite mine visible in the background, October 2025Image: Sascha Thelen/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement The 12,000-year-old Hambach forest has lived through many eras, but perhaps none as consequential as the last half-century.
Locals and environmentalists have been fighting for 50 years to keep the woodland — which sits between the western German towns of Aachen and Cologne — from becoming an open-pit coal mine. At times, protesters occupied the area, living in treehouses among the towering canopies to protect against the threat of chainsaws.