Peatlands that include one of the last remaining raised bogs in the Netherlands. An important area for at least 25 species of breeding birds and various species of wintering geese. The site provides habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna typical of peat bogs, and in some cases, rare in the Netherlands. Human activities include livestock grazing and agriculture. Up to 1992 the site had been used for peat cutting.
Public access is limited.
A complex of saltmarshes, dune systems, saline grassland, freshwater marsh, and woodland. An important area for numerous species of breeding, staging and wintering waterbirds and, in autumn, for over 30,000 waders and ducks. The area is of considerable botanical importance. A biological research station and a visitors' center are located on the island. Ramsar site no. 195.