The Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park (German : Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette; Dutch : Grenspark Maas-Swalm-Nette) or NMSM is a cross-border nature park in Germany and the Netherlands, which was founded in 2002. It is a regionally important recreation area.
The park has an area of 870 km2. Its name comes from the major rivers that flow through it, the Maas (English: Meuse), Schwalm and Nette.
The park is often confused with the Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette (Schwalm-Nette Nature Park) which was founded in 1965 and has been integrated into the NMSN since 2002.
It covers an area that includes the counties of Kleve, Viersen and Heinsberg as well as the town of Mönchengladbach in Germany and in the municipalities of Roermond, Roerdalen, Venlo, Echt-Susteren, Leudal and Maasgouw in the Netherlands.
Within the Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park is the nature reserve of Krickenbecker Seen with its four lakes that were formed by peat cutting. On the territory of Niederkrüchten lies the only juniper heath of the Lower Rhine Region, surrounded by the Elmpter Schwalmbruch. The Kaldenkirchen Border Forest (Nettetal) with its arboretum, the Sequoia Farm and the geo-hydrological water garden are also parts of the park.
21 visitor centres provide information about the landscape, art, nature, culture and history of the park. Numerous excursions and activities are also offered.
Its water balance was and is affected by the brown coal open-cast pits south of Mönchengladbach. After the Garzweiler I pit had been exhausted, work began on Garzweiler II. It slowly approached [1] Mönchengladbach until it reached the Bundesautobahn 46.
In 2022, RWE AG, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (minister was Robert Habeck), and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia agreed to end lignite mining in the Rhenish mining area by 2030, rather than between 2035 and 2038 as originally planned. [2]
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