Residents of the Drentsche Aa area want more enforcement of stray dogs and mountain bikers

This is evident from research by Trendbureau Drenthe among 5,000 residents in the area, commissioned by the Drentsche Aa National Park. They could complete questionnaires about how they experience the national park and what their good and bad experiences are in the protected nature reserve. Of the 5,000 people who were approached, 765 (15 percent, mainly people over 50) completed the digital questionnaire. According to Trendbureau Drenthe, a representative number.

From De Punt to below Elp

The residents of the Drentsche Aa National Park, which extends from De Punt to Elp, are most bothered by the stray dogs and mountain bikers who cycle outside the routes. They are also annoyed by cars driving on the dirt roads in the area and by drones flying above the nature reserve. They ask for more checks and enforcement of the rules.

Of the residents surveyed, 22 percent go out in the Drentsche Aa area every day and 40 percent at least once a week. They mainly go hiking and cycling, walk the dog or go mountain biking. More than half indicate that they sometimes (44 percent) or often (11 percent) experience crowds in the national park, especially at the Gasselterveld swimming lake and the surrounding forests, on the Balloërveld, at the Boomkroonpad and the Gasterse Duinen and the Zeegserduinen. These are also the areas that residents visit the most.

Proud to live here

The residents rate the Drentsche Aa area very positively (94 percent) and are proud to live here. The nature, the silence and the cultural-historical character with the esdorpen, thatched farms, stream valleys and heathlands make the area attractive to live. In terms of figures, nature and landscape score the highest with an 8.3, followed by recreational facilities such as cycling and walking paths and parking spaces with a 7.8. The catering and residential accommodation sector is also doing well with a 7.2.

Residents in the area hardly participate in activities in the national park, such as excursions and DIY and nature work days. They do, however, regularly buy regional products from their own area, especially dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and ice cream, meat (dry sausage), vegetables, potatoes, Dubbel Drenthe bread, beer and fruit juices.