The Neeracher Ried mire has the Linth glacier to thank for its existence. The glacier created a relief that facilitated the formation of extensive mire landscapes. The traditional utilization of the mire continues today, thus the region retains its ecological value.

During the last Ice Age, the Linth Glacier advanced from the Glarnerland region east of Zurich into the Zurich lowlands leaving behind a textbook relief: gently undulated ground moraines, lateral moraines and two dead-ice depressions (Lake Stadler, Lake Chernensee).

The Neeracher Ried mire is located in the middle of this area and is one of north Switzerland’s largest blanket mires. The mire landscape is rich in flora species and a significant breeding area for water and mire birds.

Traditional mire management and litter removal (Streunutzung) are still in practised there today. This involves draining mire and irrigating it again on a seasonal basis. Scottish highland cows graze on a small part of the mire from spring until autumn. Several busy roads which cross the mire are problematic.

Nature reserves and landscape protection areas
A large part of this area is listed, inter alia, in the following federal inventories:

• Federal Inventory of Landscape and Natural Monuments of National Importance (BLN object no 1404 “Glaziallandschaft Neerach-Stadel”)
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• Inventory of Mire Landscapes (object no 378 "Neeracher Ried")
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• Interactive map browser displaying the object included in the BLN (available in German and French)
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Other links

• All of the federal Swiss inventories can be displayed on an interactive map using this map browser (available in German and French)
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• Detailed information on the effects of outdoor sport and leisure activities on nature (available in German and French)
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• Information on Neeracher Ried (in German and French)
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