The pond landscape dates back to the 16th century. In the middle of the 17th century, after the end of the Thirty Years' War, the ponds were so unkempt and therefore silted up that it was almost impossible to fish in them.

So the local farmers decided to remove the reeds from the ponds. Scientists suspect that the islands in the Great Lake and the Nobitz Pond were created by the collected waste. Due to the decades of intensive management of the fish ponds, numerous typical bird and amphibian species have become increasingly rare or have even disappeared altogether.

The nature conservation association now has the opportunity to ecologically enhance the once species-rich area through extensive management so that the fire-bellied toad, tree frog, pochard, tufted duck and garganey can return.

Rare species: There is already a regionally significant occurrence of the dark meadow knapweed blue butterfly at the ponds, a butterfly that is protected under the Habitats Directive. The butterfly needs the meadow knapweed as a food plant, which prefers to grow on damp ground.

After NABU Altenburger Land leased the Thuringian part of the area, the first cormorant breeding colony in Thuringia was established there in 2005. Of the up to 16 nests built at times, ten pairs successfully raised 29 young birds. While the cormorant is not or only partially tolerated in other areas, as it is said to cause great damage to fish stocks in angling and fishing waters, there will be no deterrence or shooting measures here.

For around two decades, this area has once again been part of the territory of the very secretive otter. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was almost extinct in large parts of Europe. This agile water marten was therefore placed under strict protection. Hunting bans, improvements to the water quality of rivers and the protection of its habitats led to the otter becoming widespread again along the Elbe and its tributaries in Germany from the mid-1990s. In the Altenburger Land region, a roadkill on December 1, 1999 at the Kammerforst near Lehma was the first indication that otters had re-established themselves in our region. However, catching sight of an otter is like winning the lottery! But its presence is betrayed by all kinds of hidden tracks, which can be spotted with a bit of luck and a trained eye. On its "favorite paths", the so-called "Wechseln", it explores its habitat in search of food, which mainly consists of fish, amphibians, crabs, molluscs, small mammals or insect larvae.