Background The Hohes Moor in north-western Germany was once a typical Atlantic raised bog. With peat thicknesses of up to 5 metres and a peat body totalling 680 hectares, the area has not escaped from peat-cutting activities of the past. Fortunately however, this extraction was only on a small-scale and was never carried out industrially. The result, at project launch (2001), was a mosaic of mire areas drained to different extents and in various stages of degeneration. The area also includes secondary bog birchwoods, dystrophic lakes and patches of grassland. Due to its range of biotopes the site is one of the breeding outposts of the crane (Grus grus) and a refuge for other typical bog and heathland species such as the moor frog (Rana arvalis), the nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) and short-eared owl (Asio flammeus). It is also a site of interest to other Annex I of the Birds Directive species, which rest or over-winter there, year after year. These include bittern (Botaurus stellaris), ruff (Philomachus pugnax) and northern harrier (Circus cyaneus). Unfortunately, due to degeneration aggravated by nutrient run-off from adjacent farms, the bog was drying-up. Major preparatory restoration work had already been carried out on the site, ahead of the LIFE project, in particular following the drawing up of a restoration plan in 1983. By 2000, almost €2 million had already been spent on land-purchase, removal of scrub and other measures to raise water levels. In 2000, planning approval was granted for more ambitious actions – paving the way for the LIFE restoration work. Objectives This project was unusual (indeed the first such LIFE-Nature project in Germany ) to have the major preparatory work already in place by the start of the project, i.e. the technical plans, hydrological permits and land-purchase guarantees were already in place and/or had been approved by other stakeholders. This meant the LIFE team could immediately begin implementation work. The main objective was the hydrological restoration of 560 hectares of degenerated raised bog. A further 43 ha of farmed land would be purchased, or exchanged, for land acquired outside the project area. Seven main ditches in the bog would then be dammed, side ditches would be closed, or broken-up, into pools and secondary ditches would be repaired in order to protect adjacent private land from flooding. In order to reduce the import of nutrients, a polluted brook – crossing the site and carrying water from nearby intensively-farmed land – would be diverted. Results The project successfully met all its objectives. It even managed to exceed its original forecasts, due to an extension of the project area during the project implementation. In total, 653 ha were re-humidified, i.e. 93 ha more than originally foreseen. The beneficiary is now further continuing these restoration measures on those sites that were purchased shortly before the project ended. The first positive effects of the re-wetting are already visible: the population of cranes (Grus grus) has increased (five breeding pairs in 2006) and the development of typical Sphagnum-mosses has started, creating quaking bogs at the edge of the re-flooded areas. The beneficiary has also reported an increase of typical raised bog indicator species such as dragonflies (Coenagrion lunulatum, Aeshna subarctica). The main reason for the project’s success is attributed to the high acceptance of most of the landowners regarding the conservation measures and to the smooth implementation of land-purchase. Moreover, the beneficiary has had good experience in mire restoration and benefited greatly from close networking with other LIFE restoration projects including: “Peat bog restoration programme of the Korenburgerveen” (LIFE00 NAT/ NL/7049), ”Restoration programme of the Fochteloërveen raised bog” (LIFE99 NAT/NL/0620, "Restoration and demonstration project pSCI De Wieden and De Weerribben" (LIFE99 NAT/ NL/6282, "Measures to ensure the nature conservation management of Teici” (LIFE00 NAT/LV/7127, and “Management of the Lubana Wetland Complex, Latvia” (LIFE03 NAT LV 0083). Finally, it is important to keep in mind that the project’s main environmental benefits will occur in the longer-term. The project has helped to create suitable abiotic conditions that will ensure the long-term re-development of the raised bog.