Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

95% of the area is covered with forests, mainly with spruce and beech woods, including several bogs, granite rocks and creeks.

As the former inner German border ran through the Harz, large parts of the range were prohibited areas, that apart from the fortifications had remained completely unaffected for decades.

Rare animals of the Harz National Park include the white-throated dipper, the black stork, peregrine falcon, the European wildcat and especially the Eurasian lynx.

[1] Several rivers have their sources in the national park, including the Bode, the Oder and the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker.

The region is characterised by a relatively undisturbed plant and animal environment, which is mainly due to its location immediately next to the old Inner German Border.

In the wake of the spirit of optimism during the time around reunification it was exactly this that gave impetus for the establishment of the national park.

On 1 January 1991 a national park headquarters in Wernigerode was set up under the leadership of Hubertus Hlawatsch.

It concerns itself inter alia with the exchange of information, ustausch, advanced education and public relations.

[2] In 2005 the national park was included in the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

(as at: 31 December 2007) [3] The natural forests of the High Harz consist mainly of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia); deciduous trees only dominate below 600 m above sea level (NN).

Since the Harz was partly deforested in the 19th century by ore mining, the count's head forester, Hans Dietrich von Zanthier, developed the concept of reforestation with fast-growing spruce trees.

In these zones the spruce is not native and, as a result of climate change, it has suffered increasingly from bark beetle infestation.

Currently the National Park Service is having these areas reforested to encourage the original beech and maple, that used to dominate them, to resettle.

This proved unprofitable due to the low calorific value of peat and the weather conditions in the High Harz.

In March, a male lynx was fitted with a GPS transmitter, so precise details can now be obtained about the range of an animal.

It is widespread throughout the region, preferring those areas which are warmer, richer, more varied and better supplied with nutrients (lower lying deciduous forest with greater food availability).

Recently, the Harz National Park has suffered from bark beetle outbreaks as well as acid rain and other environmental problems.

The National Park management came under fire from the local communities as a result of the bark beetle measures that were subsequently needed.

Because of the inaccessibility of the terrain there was really no other way to haul the wind blown tree trunks from the affected areas.

If this proportion is not achieved the region can be classified as a so-called developing national park, if it is assessed as fulfilling these conditions within 30 years.

This covers areas that are important for tourism or are historico-culturally significant, such as the Brocken summit or mountain meadows.

[13] Furthermore, within a 500 metre wide strip on the edge of the national park, measures are being put into effect that will protect the adjacent areas.