Oostvaardersplassen

The Oostvaardersplassen is a nature reserve in Flevoland, the Netherlands, managed by the Staatsbosbeheer (state forestry service). Covering about 56 square kilometres (22 sq mi) in the province of Flevoland, it is an experiment in rewilding. It is in a publicly owned polder created in 1968. The land was reclaimed from the sea and was originally intended for industrial development, but was found to be unsuitable for cultivation. The site was then abandoned and greylag geese began inhabiting the area. Frans Vera, a Dutch biologist, was the principal investigator of the Oostvaardersplassen starting in the late 1970s. By 1989, its ecological interest had resulted in its being declared a Ramsar wetland. It became part of Nieuw Land National Park when that was established in 2018.