Staatsbosbeheer is a Dutch

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...

 organization founded in 1899 to control and conserve Dutch nature reserves

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...

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Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250.000 hectares of land in 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...

. Usually this land is open to the public for recreational purposes, but restrictions often apply. Examples are the compulsory use of a leash when bringing a dog, or daytime access only.

The organization has been criticized for not taking close enough care of its lands, or for interfering with political decisions, but news reports are generally positive or simply report public service announcements from the organization.

While the literal translation of the name would be 'State Forest Management', forests only make up 900 square kilometres of the total land under supervision. The remaining land consists of varying landscapes such as dune

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

s, polder

Polder

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...

s and wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s.

Notable areas under supervision by Staatsbosbeheer

• Bargerveen
• De Biesbosch
• Donkse Laagten
  Donkse Laagten
  The Donkse Laagten is a small Dutch nature reserve of roughly two square kilometres in the Alblasserwaard in the province of South Holland. It is located between the towns Streefkerk to the northwest and Bleskensgraaf to the south. The area is governed by the organization Staatsbosbeheer...
  
  
• Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park
• Oostvaardersplassen
  Oostvaardersplassen
  The Oostvaardersplassen is a nature reserve in the Netherlands, covering about . Despite having developed recently it already has international importance as a European wetland....
  
  
• Wierickerschans
  Wierickerschans
  The Wierickerschans Fort is a part of the Old Dutch Waterline or "Oude Hollandse Waterlinie". This was a defence system that allowed large parts of the country to be flooded . Thus protecting the main towns and city in the West against invading forces from the East. It was in use right up to the...