The Tyrolean Lech belongs to the Natura2000 network of protected areas and is the habitat of numerous protected animal species (according to the legal basis of the Europe-wide Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive and the Birds Directive).

The composition of the animal species living here is as diverse as the wild river landscape. From the species found in the oxygen-rich, cold river water to the impressive gravel bank specialists and alluvial forest species, the spectrum of a wild river habitat is wide. Species that have become very rare find their last habitats along the Lech. The nature park stands for their protection and advocates their continued existence.

From a distance, the stones along the Lech all look the same. Grey and more or less rounded by the Lech water. But that is deceptive!

If you take the time to look at the Lech pebbles up close, you will see other colours on the gravel banks besides the grey ones. Green, red, pink, white ... Round or rather angular ... Every stone can tell stories about its formation.

Gravel, stones, boulders, sand - all together they are also called bedload. And for good reason. Because the Tyrolean Lech pushes a large amount of stones down its valley with the water. If bedload transport were stopped, the Lech would deepen, gravel banks would disappear and the Tyrolean Lech would flow through the valley as a straight stream. Therefore, the Lech gravels are an important lifeline of the Lech.

But the Lech is "rich in stone". Its side streams constantly bring it rock material from the mountains. This material is crushed and rounded on its way. The stones are deposited as gravel, taken away during floods, further crumbled and ground. New gravel keeps coming in from above, which is rolled through the Lech.

The colourful Lech pebbles have a lot to tell! Different colours and shapes indicate their history of origin.

The special features of a wild river are its special habitats. These show a fascinating diversity, from barren to lush, from dry to wet. The play of contrasts is based on the dynamics of the wild river. A wild river landscape is constantly changing, as floods and dry seasons come and go.

Thus, wild rivers are landscape artists, because the water regime and the bedload or sediment load (rearrangement of substrate) form the essential factors for shaping the habitats. The water of the Lech, itself an important habitat, runs through the valley like a lifeline and is fed by many side streams along its course. In the process, it shapes the banks and forms a mosaic of gravel banks, riparian forests and well waters. Nothing stands still, everything is constantly changing. Specialists of the animal and plant world are adapted to this and need the habitats of the wild rivers for their continued existence.