The Site consists of numerous shallow water basins fringed by reed beds, some of them large, dissected by a network of mud banks, wet pasture, woodland and scrub. It is located almost two kilometres north of the city of Münster. The area is of international importance as a staging, wintering, breeding and moulting site for waders (shorebirds), ducks and reedbed birds. The monitoring of animal species extends to birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fish, grasshoppers, dragonflies and damselflies, zoobenthos and spiders. The management plan for the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) under the EU Birds Directive, within which the Site is located, addresses threats from the road in the south of the Ramsar Site (Coermühle) and the Area’s extensive use for tourism and recreation.