The Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park (Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen) is a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 in the west of the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 state Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

 as well as in the North-East of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

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

Emsland

Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , the district of Bentheim and the Netherlands .- History :For a long time the region of the Emsland was...

, Grafschaft Bentheim and the Dutch county Drenthe

Drenthe

Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...

.
The landscape within the nature park is formed by big peat areas, heather

Calluna

Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...

, small lakes and a very small population density.

The Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park was founded on June 1, 2006. The German part of this nature reserve has a size of around 140 square kilometre. Originally the German part called Bourtanger Moor had a size of 3000 square kilometre and shows that nowadays the remaining part covers just a small area of its former dimension.

The nature reserve is the home of several very rare plants like Common Cottongrass

Common Cottongrass

Common Cottongrass is a plant from the sedge family, so even though it looks like a form of grass, technically it is not. It grows in acidic wetlands and peat bogs all over northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America...

 or Drosera and also partly endangered animals like Viviparous lizard

Viviparous lizard

The viviparous lizard or common lizard is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other reptile species, and most populations are viviparous , rather than laying eggs as most other lizards do.-Identification:The length of the body is less than...

, Grass Snake

Grass Snake

The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...

, Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. 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 may...

 or European Nightjar

European Nightjar

The European Nightjar, or just Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is the only representative of the nightjar family of birds in most of Europe and temperate Asia.- Habitat and distribution :...

did find a new habitat in this reserve.

Bargerveen

The Dutch part called Bargerveen has a size of 1200 ha (2,965.3 acre) and is mainly formed by bog. This Dutch part of the nature reserve was already founded in 1992 at that time named Natuurreservaat Bargerveen.

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)
• http://www.bentheimer-landschaf.de/schutzgebiete.html (German)
• http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/ontdek/bijzonderenatuurgebieden/details.asp?LOC_ID=36 (Dutch)