Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen

Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen
Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park
Location of Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park.
Location	Lower Saxony, Germany Drenthe, Netherlands
Nearest city	Twist, Germany
Coordinates	52°39′22″N 7°05′24″E / 52.656°N 7.09°E / 52.656; 7.09Coordinates: 52°39′22″N 7°05′24″E / 52.656°N 7.09°E / 52.656; 7.09
Established	2006

The Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen (engl. Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park) is a nature reserve in the west of the German state Lower Saxony as well as in the North-East of the Netherlands. Mostly this nature reserve is spread out over the German counties Emsland, Grafschaft Bentheim and the Dutch province Drenthe. 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, the German part of the reserve, has a size of around 140 km² (54 sq mi). Originally Bourtanger Moor had a size of 3,000 km² (1,200 sq mi) 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 and drosera and endangered animals like the viviparous lizard, grass snake, short-eared owl and European nightjar can be found in this reserve.

The Dutch part of the reserve was designated a protected area in 1992 as Natuurreservaat Bargerveen (Bargerveen Nature Reserve). It has a size of 2,600 ha (6,400 acres) and consists mainly of bog.