National-Landscape-Drentse-Aa
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National Park The Drentsche Aa National Landscape What is a National Park? For centuries people thought that space, definition of national parks which was to as a national park, it contains valuable flora water and other natural resources were apply world-wide. and fauna and is well worth a visit. inexhaustible. As the world population grew, people increasingly exploited areas of The main aim in creating national parks is to In the Netherlands national parks are previously untouched nature. They cut down protect large natural areas and landscapes, designated by the Minister of Agriculture, trees to make way for farming. They hunted and the species of flora and fauna they Nature and Food Quality. A national park and kept animals in the surviving woodlands contain. Secondary aims include has been designated for all the landscapes and forests. These woodlands gradually environmental education, nature-related which are characteristically Dutch. A national diminished in area. They were replaced by recreation and scientific research. park is administered by a consultative body cultural landscapes which may look fairly Nowadays national parks can be found in representing owners, managers and natural, but in fact bear little relation to the practically every country in Europe. administrators. The provincial council original, unadulterated state. Altogether they offer their visitors an overview provides the secretariat. of the great variety of the wildlife and The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food The first misgivings about these developments landscapes of Europe. Quality contributes a good deal to the costs of were felt in the USA. They led in 1871 to the administration and maintenance, and creation of Yellowstone as the first national The Dutch national parks fit well into the information and education within the park in the world. In 1909 Sweden was the European network. In 1969 the Netherlands national park. first country in Europe to create a national signed international agreements concerning park. Many other countries followed suit. the establishment of valuable nature reserves In 1969 in response to the very different as national parks. The Dutch nature reserves motives for designating national parks, the may be relatively small, but often contain International Union for the Conservation of valuable ecosystems rarely found elsewhere, Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), an such as dunes, peat bogs, and heathland. You agency of the United Nations, formulated a can safely assume that if an area is designated 2 3 Welcome to the Drentsche Aa National Landscape The landscape of the northern province of National Landscape in 2002. Through it much as it always has done through a rich Drenthe is an ancient one, with human meanders a stream, the Drentsche Aa, variety of traditional, unspoilt landscapes. settlement going back thousands of years. from which the National Landscape derives The Drentsche Aa National The outstanding cultural and natural its name. Fed by several tributaries, the Landscape, a stream valley with typical es values here led to the area’s designation as Drentsche Aa follows its natural course villages, is incorporated in the system of Landscape formed between 200,000 took place on the essen sites waste water into the Drentsche Aa at in Vrij Nederland jects for water quality, sustainable Drentshe Aa National Landscape and 50,000 years ago 1000 years ago: villages and essen Assen and into Rolderdiep 1991 first report on recreation in agriculture, recreation and traffic, and completed Saalian glacial stage (approximately already created in their present loca- 1962 end of reclamation of waste Drentsche Aa stream valley nature and landscape. This plan 2002 creation of the Drentsche Aa 370,000 – 130,000 years ago) tions land announced in Queen’s Speech 1991 National Forest Service report marked a shift in the water boards’ National Landscape Weichselian glacial stage (approxi- Roman Era (12 BC to AD 450) gold 1965 conservation plan for Drentsche on drying out and ecological study thinking and working with regard to 2002 launch of website mately 115,000 – 10,000 years ago) coins: finds from the 2nd and 4th cen- Aa stream valley, published by Nation- 1993 hydrological and ecological environmental matters. www.drentscheaa.nl turies al Forest Service advisory section study report for management purpos- 1995 National Forest Service man- 2003 First official Drentsche Aa Archaeological periods Middle Ages (AD 450 - 1500): 1970 Pollution of Surface Waters Act es agement plan and spatial plan for guides trained Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (300,000 cart tracks from ancient trading routes in force, establishment of Drenthe 1993 National Forest Service report Drentsche Aa stream valley 2003 Recreational access and mobili- to 4900 BC) the first bridges at most important water purification board on management and policy 1995 Regional vision for nature, forest ty plan for the Drentsche Aa National Neolithic (5300 to 2000 BC) fording places of streams 1972 Reparcellation of land Rolde- 1994 Structure Plan for the Rural and landscape in the Drentse Aa by Landscape Funnel beaker culture (3400 – Anloo area Areas in the Netherlands resulted in Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Devel- 2003 Installation of working group on 2800 BC) 19th century: 1886 Mark Law, start of 1973 Amendment of regional plan for more money becoming available for opment and Fisheries education, communication and recre- Bronze Age (2000 to 800 BC) division of common lands nature and recreation for Drentsche land purchase, development and man- 1997 All sewerage water discharge ation including Middle Bronze Age (1800 Aa stream valley agement of rural area and reorienta- points in area removed: water quality 2004 Landscape Vision to 1100 BC) 20th century: 1974 end of discharge of untreated tion of agriculture. improved. 2004 Integral survey of regional Iron Age (800 BC to AD 12) 1955 First nature and landscape waste water from slaughterhouse 1995 ROM/WCL-project Drentse Aa & opportunities report on Drentsche Aa stream valley Udema in ‘t Andersche diepje Elperstroom Implementation of Struc- 21st century: 2004 Plan for visitors’ information 2000 years ago: farming already 1960 end of discharge of untreated 1982 special newspaper supplement ture Plan for the Rural Areas with pro- 2002 BIO-plan, regional plan for the network BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 370.000 350.000 300.000 250.000 200.000 50.000 40.000 30.000 2 1 0 BC BC BC BC BC BC BC 00 3 2 4 500 886 000 00 00 10.0 7. 5.0004.000 3.000 2.000 1.0 00 0 1 1900 1955 1960 1962 1965 1970 1972 1974 1982 1991 199 1995 1997 2 2 2 4 KEY TO SYMBOLS Cycle track Information Hunebed Mill Car park Sheep pen Tourist Office Horeca Church tower Mixed stand Conifers Broadleaves Heathland Pasture and arable fields Poor soils water 5 Natural development national parks in the Netherlands. In the Geological history management, planning and development In the Drentsche Aa National Landscape, of this area, consideration is given to the narrow streams meander through wide, specific needs of nature and the landscape, shallow ‘valleys’ vaguely reminiscent of but also to agriculture, recreation, local floodplains. In order to understand how inhabitants and visitors, water manage- this landscape arose, we must dive briefly ment and cultural heritage. into its geological history. The Drentsche Aa stream system At the end of the Saalian glacial stage, flows from central Drenthe to the outskirts about 150,000 years ago, glacial run-off of the city of Groningen (SSE to NNW). For carved deep gullies, which later filled with practical reasons, however, the National sand and peat. The advancing ice sheet also Landscape is currently limited to the area pushed up ridges of ground moraine in the between Assen, Glimmen and Gieten. low-lying land. Much later again, small Access to this unique and diverse area is streams meandered over the flat, peaty excellent. lowlands on their way to the sea. As the sea level fell, the streams flowed more rapidly, carving deeper and deeper channels roughly following the same SSE to NNW course as Loonerdiep and Oudemolensche diep got the ground moraine ridges. The streams their current course, which cuts ‘through’ deposited cover sands on the ground the ridges of Zeijen, Rolde and Tynaarlo. moraine plateaus between the stream Many small bog beds developed in the old valleys. Shifting sands actually blocked watercourses that had been blocked. Many some watercourses, altering their path to thousands of years later, these bogs became the sea. That is how the Deurzerdiep, sites for peat extraction. 6 War memorial Eext The cover sands started to form system of streams and lowland brooks shifting sand dunes. There are still which flow into the Drentsche Aa. The stretches of bare sand in the Drentsche Aa Drentsche Aa actually comprises many region, such as at Balloërveld. At the streams and watercourses, each with its Gasterensche Duinen, Zeegser Duinen and own spring and catchment area. The hydro- Anloër Strubben, the shape of shifting sand logical system as a whole has an area of dunes is still recognisable despite having 10,600 ha. This does not include the become overgrown over the centuries by springs further to the south, nor the down- heather and trees. Tree plantations were stream broads to the north of the National started here in previous centuries to stop Landscape. Since water is a determining the shifting sand from engulfing farms and factor in all these regions, however, there is villages. close cooperation on policy measures and The region thus has sandy, peaty and spatial planning. loamy soils, but no layers of rock. Despite The Drentsche Aa falls 21 metres this absence of sedimentary rock, Drenthe region have always found good uses for from its highest point, near Grolloo, to the is known as one of the rockier parts of the these rocks and boulders, from the mega- lowest point in Groningen: enough for a Netherlands.