As part of the “Pond Turtles Without Borders” project, new bodies of water were created for the pond turtle and the habitat prepared for reintroduction. Through the breeding program, animals are regularly released into the German-French project area on the border near Neuburg in the project area in order to build up a start-up population. "Together with other reintroduction measures, it should be possible to bring the European pond turtle back to the Upper Rhine permanently," explains Uwe Meißner from the Lower Nature Conservation Authority, "Observations already confirm the success of the measures. Even if there are still no pond turtles to be seen in the waters between Berg and Neuburg, it already offers a protected space as a superordinate "umbrella species" due to the diverse habitat requirements of a large number of plants and animal species such as marsh harrier, little bittern, purple heron, tree frog and crested newt. “There are good opportunities for observation in Neuburg am Rhein, where a nature trail with observation platforms and themed panels about the pond turtle has been set up for the population.
Source: District of Germersheim - nature conservation and landscape management