The structurally rich cultural landscapes of our region, which are characterized by a high level of biodiversity, could only be created through agricultural use. This is in contrast to the intensification of land use with monocultures on ever larger areas and the use of fertilizers and agrochemicals. This is largely responsible for the fact that since the middle of the 20th century the modern agricultural landscape has had fewer and fewer structural elements, habitats and biological diversity. This development also affects the state capital of Wiesbaden, where arable farming continues to dominate large parts of the district, particularly in the eastern outskirts. This prompted organized hunters and the city's environmental department to address the issue and implement targeted species protection measures.

The species that are of particular interest for the field project (so-called target species) are partridge and brown hare, as well as various bird species such as skylark, red-backed shrike and corn bunting. The field hamster, another potential target species, was last detected in Wiesbaden in 2009. Nevertheless, the project partners are still pursuing the goal of creating suitable habitats for the hamster and thus creating the conditions for it to be reintroduced in the future.

The measures implemented as part of the project provide habitats and food for the target species as well as many other species. For this purpose, flowering areas are created in fields. The farmers who provide and plant these areas are provided with the necessary seed and are reimbursed for processing costs and loss of earnings.

The individual flowering areas should be as large as possible (at least 30 m wide) so that partridges, for example, are protected from predators. As the areas are planted perennially, they also provide food and cover in winter as well as overwintering opportunities for insects.

While partridge populations in Germany have declined by 90 percent since 1980, the censuses carried out in the project area since 2019 show that the conservation measures implemented in Wiesbaden East have been very successful. The number of partridges rose from 182 in 2019 to 459 in 2023.

The population of brown hares has also more than doubled since 2018. The average population density, which was 12.5 hares per 100 hectares in 2018, was 42.2 in the fall of 2023 (the comparable figure for Germany in 2020 was 15 hares per 100 hectares). Increasing sightings are also being reported for other species, such as yellow wagtails, hoopoes, reed buntings, yellowhammers, whitethroats and eagle owls.

The successes achieved and the commitment of the conservation association in particular are repeatedly highly recognized. For example, the conservation association received the State Prize for Habitat Design in 2018, the Wolfgang Ehmke Prize in 2023 and the Special Gold Level Conservation Medal in 2024.

The starting point was a small game project, which was implemented from 2013 by the Delkenheim hunting community and funded by the Environment Agency. An area habitat concept presented by the Wiesbaden-Ost Hunting Association (HGO) in 2017 was finally transferred to the Wiesbaden-Ost field project run by the HGO and the Environment Agency in 2018.

As one of nine projects across Hesse in the special program "Promotion of flagship species in the field", it is financially supported by the Hessian Ministry of the Environment. It is an example of good cooperation between hunters, farmers and local authorities to promote biodiversity.

The implementation of habitat measures began in 2016 with 0.6 hectares of flowering areas in Kloppenheim. After the start of the field project, the project area grew significantly and steadily: in 2019, the project already comprised 82 flowering areas with a total size of 20 hectares, with 60 percent of the areas being made available by HGO hunting licensees. In 2022, the total size of the flowering areas was 62 hectares, 74% of which was provided by the 22 participating farms. The size of the individual flowering areas has also grown significantly in recent years: from an average of 0.24 hectares in 2019 to 0.69 hectares in 2022.

The HGO districts cover the entire eastern part of the Wiesbaden district - from the Rhine and Main rivers to the Main-Taunus foreland and up to the Taunus ridge. In addition to extensive forest areas as well as settlement and traffic areas, around 4,800 hectares of open land cover large parts of the districts, with arable land clearly dominating. The development of traffic infrastructure through several highways, federal and state roads as well as railroad lines and the settlement areas of the eastern suburbs of Wiesbaden lead to a partially pronounced fragmentation of the habitats.

Experience in the Wiesbaden-East field project shows that efforts to promote field species can achieve significant success within a relatively short period of time. As the initial situation was very poor, especially for partridges, one of the key objectives for the coming years is to further strengthen the populations and their recovery in the project area. To this end, it will be necessary to gain additional areas in order to achieve a better network. This can only succeed in close cooperation between the project participants in the hunting community and the administration as well as the local farmers and with the support of the Darmstadt Regional Council and the Hessian Ministry of the Environment.