Background The densely populated district northeast of the Wiehengebirge, crossed by the Mittellandkanal - a major shipping waterway - might be an unexpected place to find a raised bog. Nevertheless, the 550 ha Große Torfmoor has managed to survive relatively intact until the present day. The bog is home to a large number of rare and partly endangered plant and animal species, including remnants of intact Sphagnum vegetation. The area is designated as a NATURA 2000 network site. However, drainage channels and trenches from past small-scale peat digging were gnawing at the bog’s edges and lowering its humidity. Consequently, birches and Molinia were spreading across the bog. These further dehydrate the bog, repressing native plants and destroy the open landscape that provided specific habitat for certain animals. Kreisverband Minden-Lübbecke e.V. has been involved in the management of the Torfmoor since its establishment, for example by supervising a flock of sheep in the Torfmoor margin for active grazing management. The Große Torfmoor lies right beside the town of Minden and is a favourite destination for day trippers. Objectives The beneficiary applied for LIFE funding to carry out more extensive conservation work to rehumidify the Torfmoor raised-bog and raise the conservation status of habitats and species included on the Habitats Directive. It aimed to secure and develop the habitats and species of Annex I and II of the Habitats Directive and other characteristic plant and animal species of the raised-bogs. A first priority would be to purchase remaining private plots to enable conservation work to rewet 430 ha of bog. The restoration work planned was to clear overgrowth and reduce the spread of invasive species on the bog, even out some of the ground, install small dams, dykes and blocking ditches to raise water levels and introduce measures to control disturbance by human visitors. As well as reducing disturbance from visitors, the project also sought to improve the socio-economic integration of the bog in the local area by raising awareness of the habitats and species there and improving visitor information. Besides the Annex I bog habitat itself, Annex I birds of the Birds Directive like the corncrake (Crex crex) and white stork (Ciconia ciconia) were expected to benefit from the project via the open humid grassland which would be created as buffer zone. Results This LIFE project fully realised its target of rewetting 430 ha of raised bog and considerably improved the area’s conservation status. The success of the project was seen as based on detailed hydrological understanding of the area, a good long-term vision for the bog’s management and useful cross-border exchanges. The project was able to purchase 13.5 ha of private land - not quite all - on the bog. Large birch trees were cut down across 55 ha, mowing or clear cutting of shrubbery took place across 105 ha and specific invasive species were removed: Prunus serotina from 4.6 ha and Pteridium aquilinum from 2 ha. Wood collected was later reused within the project’s construction measures. To retain rain in the bog and raise water levels, 22.3 km of peat dams were created, 11 km of draining ditches were filled and 17 weirs were built, one of which was adjustable. To ensure optimum rehumidification, the steep banks of the peat digging trenches were graded, topsoil removed from 13 ha and 3 km of turf cutting edges were bevelled. To ensure maintenance of the vegetation on the bog and keep the surface open, the project introduced a managed flock of moorland sheep to take care of recurring follow-up grazing. Ten spawning ponds were also created to provide optimum habitat conditions for key species and 210 m of roads were removed. To both control visitor impact and increase their awareness at the site, the project erected barriers, signposts, information panels and an observation platform as well as building a nature trail with 624 m of raised paths, including a section showing how tracks of logs used to be laid out across the bog in ancient times. Water levels were seen to rise considerably during the project. Positive vegetation developments were seen at monitoring areas across the bog, with an increase in sphagnum mosses and an obvious reduction in trees. The population of target species considerably increased from 2004 to 2007, for example: common snipes (Gallinago gallinago) from 4 to 15 breeding pairs; and lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) from 9 to 36 breeding pairs. A pair of common cranes have also been seen on the bog. These are clear indicators that the restoration measures were successful and given the slow and steady nature of bog growth and the long-term management introduced, can be expected to lead to even better results in the future. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).