Lage: southwest of Johanngeorgenstadt in the Ore Mountain region

SAC area: “Erzgebirgskamm am Kleinen Kranichsee” (domestic identification number: 10E)

SPA area: “Westerzgebirge” (domestic identification number: 77)

Brief description:
The high moor “Kleiner Kranichsee” is a ridge moor that drains into the Zwickauer Mulde to the east via the Lehmergrundbach Stream and Schwarzwasser Stream and into the Eger via the Buchschachtelgraben Ditch and Rohlabach Stream in the south. The name of the moor is probably derived from the Slavic “granica” (border) and the antiquated words “Seihe” or “Sehe” used to refer to swampy regions.

The Kleiner Kranichsee moor region encompasses about 19 ha and is organized from the inside out into open high moor expanses filled with hollows of peat moss cottongrass meadows surrounded by mountain pine moor woodlands and spruce (moor) woodland borders. In the western and eastern parts of the high moor, there are large swaths of land where the peat had receded, but where clear signs of regeneration can be seen. There are a few ditches that drain the area, including a man-made ditch that was dug deeper in 1928. Drainage ditches and the destruction of peat beds, which hinder the downslope supply of water from the hydrological catchment area, caused the moor woodlands to spread, to the detriment of the open high moor areas. All the same,  it is among the most well-preserved moors in the Ore Mountains. The eastern core area of the Butterwegmoor is also part of the hydrological catchment area.

Implementation of measures:
A considerable need to take action to conserve the moor regions was identified during management planning for the fauna flora habitat area To this end, the environmental department of the former district council of Chemnitz commissioned a hydrological survey in 2006 with concrete suggestions for action. Subsequent execution planning formed the basis for the implementation of re-watering measures in five construction phases between 2007 and 2010. Special attention was paid to the restoration of water supplied down the slopes from the northern hydrological catchment area of Kleinen Kranichsee. Water retention efforts were also put into action in the core area. This involved the man-made Henneberger ditch that had been dug deeper in 1928 and formerly cut through the entire moor as well as the border ditch carved out in 1975 with blasting. A total of 55 dams, some of them very large, were built throughout the entire moor region. Board and bulkhead dams were installed, lined with geotextile, and then fully covered with peat.

All measures were coordinated in advance with the environmental protection authorities and government forestry authorities as the owners of the space.

We received financial support for the project from funds of the “Natürliches Erbe (Natural Heritage)” directive.