USAG Rheinland-Pfalz, Host Nation Partners complete flagship restoration project
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – USAG Rheinland-Pfalz and host nation partners celebrated the successfully completed restoration of the former “Rod and Gun Club” small-arms shooting range in Oftersheim, Germany, on Sept. 17, 2026.
USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Environmental Chief, Dr. Anja Groß, and project lead, Johannes Haid, unveiled the site during a ceremonial dedication of the new informational signs together with representatives of the Federal Forest Division of the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA) and the City of Oftersheim.
The joint project between the Federal Forest Division of BImA, the Heidelberg State Building Authority and USAG Rheinland-Pfalz focused on completely dismantling the former military infrastructure and paving the way for a species-rich nature conservation area.
“Where military training operations took place for decades, nature is now gradually reclaiming the area,” emphasized Jürgen Köhler, director of the Rhine-Moselle Federal Forestry Office, during the dedication ceremony. He added that the successful soil remediation and complete decommissioning demonstrate how formerly contaminated conversion sites can be sustainably repurposed for nature conservation.
From 1971 to 2013, USAG Heidelberg operated the small-arms range for handguns and small-caliber weapons at the Oftersheim site in Baden-Württemberg. When USAG Heidelberg merged into USAG Rheinland-Pfalz in 2013, the new command assumed responsibility for the Rod and Gun Club property.
To satisfy U.S. Army compensation obligations to Germany requiring the military to dismantle decommissioned installations whenever it builds new regional facilities, BImA re-naturalized the former Rod and Gun Club by remediating soil, clearing unexploded ordnance, and demolishing all buildings, shooting ranges, and paved roads. Focusing on these defunct properties under BImA control spares active U.S. installations from disruptive offset projects. Ultimately, this former shooting range secured a uniquely large, high-quality compensation area to fulfill the Army's environmental obligations.
The large-scale flagship project spanned nearly a decade of planning and execution. The project’s success underscores the partnership and collaboration between USAG Rheinland-Pfalz and host nation partners. “We would like to thank USAG Rheinland-Pfalz, who made this possible in an exemplary manner and with a tremendous financial investment,” Köhler said.
Susanne Barisch, director of the Oftersheim Building Authority, agreed: “I truly appreciate what has been accomplished here on the ground, and I want to express my very sincere thanks for making this project such a success.”
For Johannes Haid, project lead with the USAG Rheinland-Pfalz DPW Environmental Division, the milestone was personal. After having worked on the upkeep of the installation, it was difficult to watch it fall apart and rot away, he remembered. He expressed that he is personally delighted that the project has come to a more than worthy conclusion, having created a beautiful little corner of nature in Oftersheim.
The newly unveiled information panels now offer visitors insights into the site’s military history as well as its ecological transformation.
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