Rezerwat przyrody Kurze Grzędy, Nature reserve in Kashubian Lake District, Poland.
Rezerwat przyrody Kurze Grzędy is a nature reserve in the Kashubian Lake District with high peatlands, three dystrophic lakes, and surrounding woodlands of swamps and oak-beech forests. The protected area covers roughly 170 hectares and is made accessible through marked trails and wooden boardwalks.
The reserve was established in 1916 to protect capercaillie breeding grounds as a bird sanctuary. It expanded to its current size in 1989 to provide broader protection for the forest ecosystems of the region.
The Kashubians have lived in this region for centuries, maintaining a deep connection with their forests. The reserve sits within a landscape where local communities continue to respect and depend on these natural surroundings.
Visitors can enter the reserve through marked routes that run from Kamienica Królewska to Mirachowo, with wooden boardwalks extending to the lakes. The terrain is best explored in sturdy footwear, as conditions can be uneven and wet throughout much of the site.
The reserve was the last known habitat of capercaillie in Pomerania before the bird vanished between 1960 and 1980. This loss demonstrates how sensitive even protected forest ecosystems can be to broader environmental shifts.
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