Stone walls in agricultural land are incorporated in the general protection of biotopes. They are protected because they provide a habitat for endangered species. Therefore it is illegal to carry out proceedings in an area that is included in the protection of biotopes. In order to do that, exemption is needed which can only be granted if there are special reasons. The essay stipulates what these special reasons are.

In an exemption errand the interest for nature conservation must be weighed against a public or a private interest. Administrators have varying opinions on how the interest for nature conservation, contra individual and public interests shall be evaluated. The interest for nature conservation has a lower value if the wall lacks endangered species or if stone walls are common in the area. But a lower value, in itself, can never be considered as special reasons.

When it comes to a public interest, it must be an important one in order to bring about an exemption. Examples of important public interests are animal and health protection.

Private interests are often constituted by the desire to improve the farming profitability. This is however rarely considered as an “unforeseen situation”, and therefore - according to preparatory work - it is not judged as special reasons.

One conclusion is that the County Administrative Boards need improved guidance. Another conclusion is that exemption shall be used restrictively. Exemptions are not supposed to solve all problems due to protection of stone walls in agricultural land. They ought to be the solution when no other reasonable alternatives can be found.