Overview
- A nightly closure has been in place for more than two decades each February to April from about 19:00 to 06:00, yet violations continue despite flashing warning signs.
- Volunteer monitor Kai Hensel reports roughly 500 fire salamanders run over in the past three years, largely pregnant females heading to a parallel stream to deposit larvae.
- From those counts, Hensel estimates many thousands of larvae were lost, an extrapolation he attributes to the predominance of gravid females, with actual deaths likely undercounted.
- NABU and Pollichia volunteers are currently documenting live and dead animals along the route and are calling for stronger police checks in addition to a dusk-activated barrier.
- The K16 section between Wachenheim and Lindenberg cuts through significant amphibian habitat in the Palatinate, the species is protected under federal law, and campaigners say some drivers ignore the rules to avoid a roughly 12‑minute detour.