Western Europe's largest contiguous forest is being destroyed by bark beetle. Global warming is playing a significant role in this development. And yet, althought the wilderness and the idea of a pristine spruce forest is dying, a new forest and a new mantra are evolving: regeneration.

The Bayerischer Wald (the Bavarian forest) was Germany's first National Park, gazetted in 1970. In 1997, the park expanded from 133 km2 to 242.5 km2. In the National Park, there are 350 km of hiking trails and 200 km of cycle tracks. It is the most popular National Park in Germany receiving over a million visitors...