The Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen (engl. Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park) is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in the west of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

as well as in the North-East of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Mostly this nature reserve is spread out over the German counties Emsland,

Grafschaft Bentheim County of Bentheim (german: Grafschaft Bentheim) is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, the district of Emsland, and the districts o ...

and the Dutch province

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

. The landscape within the nature park is characterised by big peat areas, heather, small lakes and a very low human population density. The Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park was founded on June 1, 2006.

Bourtanger Moor

Bourtanger Moor, the German part of the reserve, has a size of around . Originally Bourtanger Moor had a size of which shows that nowadays the remaining part covers just a small area of its former dimension. The nature reserve is the home of several special plants like

common cottongrass Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

and

drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genus, genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucil ...

and endangered animals like the

viviparous lizard The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara''), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning ...

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

and

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

can be found in this reserve.

Bargerveen

The Dutch part of the reserve was designated a protected area in 1992 as ''Natuurreservaat Bargerveen'' (

Bargerveen Nature Reserve Bargerveen Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Dutch province of Drenthe that has been included in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Since 2006 it is part of the Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen (''engl. Bourtanger Moo ...

). It has a size of and consists mainly of bog.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*http://www.naturpark-moor.eu (German) *http://www.umwelt.niedersachsen.de/master/C24290611_N24290672_L20_D0_I598.html (German) *http://www.umwelt.niedersachsen.de (German) *http://www.erdoel-erdgas-museum-twist.de (German) *http://www.moormuseum.de (German) *https://web.archive.org/web/20100415215906/http://www.bentheimer-landschaf.de/schutzgebiete.html (German) *https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044323/http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/ontdek/bijzonderenatuurgebieden/details.asp?LOC_ID=36 (Dutch) Bogs of Lower Saxony Nature parks in Lower Saxony Nature reserves in Lower Saxony Protected areas established in 2006 Transboundary protected areas Landforms of Drenthe Emmen, Netherlands Bogs of the Netherlands