SALZER

AUSTRIA (see also List of Individuals)

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24.4.1840 Prague/CR - 24.2.1895 Wien/A

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Johann Salzer was educated as a forest engineer in Bohemia. He then was in the forest departments of Croatia, Styria and Dalmatia until being called to the Agricultural Ministry in Vienna in 1878. He was appointed in 1884 director of the newly founded forestry police and was soon considered the leading expert in matters relating to forest problems. He was from 1886 a Ministerialrat and took over in 1892 the newly erected Technical Department of torrent rehabilitation in the Ministry of Agriculture. He actively participated in the reorganization of the forest service and added various sections in today's Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria. He was a systematic founder of reforestation of karstic regions in today's Croatia. Ferdinand Wang (1855-1917) dedicated his 1901 book on torrent rehabilitation to Salzer.

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Salzer's contribution to Imperial Austria was a thorough organization of the forestry department that made Austria around 1900 to the foremost country in the appreciation of reforestation. Salzer particularly contributed to the protection of karstic land that had been terribly deforested during the middle ages for mining along the Adriatic Sea. Salzer realized the significance of torrent rehabilitation and "founded" the Austrian School with prominent individuals such as Josef Stiny (1880-1958), Georg Strele (1861-1950) or Ferdinand Wang. Torrent protection followed the disastrous floods that added enormous damage to the Alpine countries causing there similar reactions. Population of the Alps asked protection from the state, to find a better environment. Salzer was thereby actively supported by Arthur Seckendorff (1845-1886). After a study tour through France, where agricultural engineering was most advanced, Salzer initiated works in his country which were successfully continued by his collaborators.

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_{Anonymous (1895). Ministerialrat Johann Salzer. Centralblatt für das gesamte Forstwesen 21: 185-188. P}

_{Aulitzky, H. (1984). Johann Salzer. 100 Jahre Wildbachverbauung in Österreich 1884-1984:}

_{22. Bundesministerium für Landund Forstwirtschaft: Wien.}

_{Kurir, A. (1988). Salzer. Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 9: 400-401. Salzer, J. (1886). Über den Stand der Wildbachverbauung in Österreich. Wien.}

_{Salzer, J. (1895). Die Wildbachverbauung 1883-1894. K.K. Ackerbau-Ministerium: Wien. Strele, G. (1935). Zur Geschichte der Wildbachverbauung in Österreich 1834-1934. Centralblatt für das gesamte Forstwesen 61(1): 2-19; 61(2): 37-50; 61(3): 96. P}

_{Wang, F. (1901). Grundriss der Wildbachverbauung. Hirzel: Leipzig.}