Aurora Ribot says that “the time is ripe to guarantee the safety of people hiking along the Pedra en Sec route”.

A new forestry brigade has begun to tour the Consell de Mallorca’s hiking routes to reinforce the regular maintenance tasks already carried out by the Direcció Insular de Medi Ambient. The commission to execute and carry out these forestry works has a total budget of 192,027.35 euros and the execution period is one year.

The maintenance work will focus on the Ruta de la Pedra en Sec (GR-221), 171.7 kilometres open and signposted, allowing hikers to follow the stretch between Estellencs and Esporles, and linking Deià with the port of Pollença. Work will also be done on the Artà-Lluc route (GR-222), which links the Levante mountain ranges and the natural park on a 46-kilometre route.

Vice-president Ribot stressed that “we want people to be able to walk through the Serra, and that is why we are devoting efforts and investing resources to make the route more attractive and safer for everyone to use. To ensure the safety of hikers, we must ensure forestry work to maintain the routes.

“This action is a continuation of the work we do every day to make the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range safer for hikers,” added the councillor.

For his part, the island’s Director of the Environment, Josep Manchado, pointed out that “the order we have formalized is key to guaranteeing the maintenance of the hiking trails.

He also indicated that “in addition to the many initiatives in conservation and improvement of the mountains that we have carried out, with the task we have formalised we will be able to improve the maintenance and care service for the hiking trails that cross the Tramuntana mountain range”.

Among the tasks to be carried out, the forestry work to be carried out will be: removing fallen trees, removing forest waste and passing.

Forestry work

It will consist of eliminating the herbaceous and bushy vegetation that invades the hiking routes. This task will be carried out with conservative and selective criteria and manual techniques or machinery that makes a clean cut and, at all times, good environmental practices will be followed, respecting the species protected by current legislation.

Fallen trees and branches on hikers’ routes that hinder passage or represent a danger to hikers will be removed.
The disposal of forest waste will be carried out by shredding or transferring the remains to authorised selective collection centres.