Galenbecker See - Restoration project 'Galenbecker See' for priority species

This project intendes to optimise the local conditions for lesser spotted eagle, corncrake and bittern, through large-scale habitat restoration. The central target is to raise and stabilise the lake water level. To retain the extra water, this would entail building a 6.9 km dyke as a new 'plug' for the lake. Nutrients are removed from the water flowing into the lake by running it through a filter of reeds. At the same time fish stocks are restored to their natural levels. To prepare the restoration work, considerable areas of farmland needed to be acquired, all of which became wetlands or even flooded. This created new amphibia-rich wet grasslands and sedge mires for the lesser spotted eagle and the corncrake, as well as new reed beds for the bittern. To secure local acceptance of the scheme, an advisory board made up of representatives of interest groups is set up.