A large, continuous forest reserve in central North Rhine-Westphalia, designated under the EU Birds Directive.
Luerwald und Bieberbach
Luerwald und Bieberbach is a European Bird Protection Area (Special Protection Area, or SPA) located in the central part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Designated by the Arnsberg regional authority in 2004, it spans the Hochsauerlandkreis, Märkischer Kreis, and Kreis Soest districts, sitting on the northern edge of the Sauerland region between Neheim and Menden, and just south of the Ruhr valley.
The protected area consists of two contiguous sections dominated by a large, continuous, largely unsettled forest landscape. It is crossed by a dense network of near-natural forest streams, anchored by the Bieberbach, which flows into the Hönne near Lendringsen. Roughly two-thirds of the area is broadleaf forest, with closed beech and mixed oak woodlands, smaller shares of conifer plantations, and patchy habitats of moist grassland, open water, and rocky outcrops.
The reserve is of considerable ornithological value at the regional and supra-regional scale. Its mix of old-growth deciduous forest, undisturbed stream corridors, and quiet land makes it an important breeding ground for Several Annex I species of the EU Birds Directive, including black stork, common kingfisher, middle spotted woodpecker, and red kite.
