Background The state−owned Vattaja Natura 2000 area covers 1 200 ha. It accounts for 37% of Finland's grey dunes and is the largest boreal dune area in Europe. It is characterized by crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), willow (Salix repens), and the endemic Juncus balticus. The area contains six priority habitats - mainly dunes and coastal lagoons - and eight other habitats of interest to the European Community. In front of the dune coast there is a uniquely wide area of sandbanks, with both longshore and transverse bars. The highest dunes are over 15 m. In the southern part, there are wide bays and lush coastal meadows. Due to land upheaval of 8-9 mm per year, the shore habitats are in constant change. Several small ponds and wetlands are now locked in behind dunes, representing the flada (narrow inlets) and gloe lake development stage of coastal land upheaval. However, the Vattaja habitats are subject to a number of significant pressures. Vattaja has been one of the most important military exercise and artillery practice areas of the Finnish Defence Forces since the 1950s. The area is subject to significant recreational use and tourism. Furthermore, there has been a transition from extensive farming to intensive forestry with monocultures. Objectives The main objectives of the project was to conserve and restore the dune habitats in the Vattaja and to enhance users’ awareness of the importance of these habitats, as well as the conservation objectives of the Natura 2000 network. A significant aim of this process was to adjust the activities of the Finnish Defence Forces in order to prevent damage caused to Natura 2000 habitats during military exercises. The project planned to train military personnel to take into account the vulnerability of the natural habitats on the site. Areas affected by military use, such as transition mires, forests and a part of the adjacent glo-lake, will be restored. Other planned interventions include the introduction of grazing animals to meadows and pastures - in cooperation with local farmers - to prevent overgrowth and to encourage the development of open and semi-open habitats. The project also intended to explore and test the relatively new method of blowing up the top of mature trees to make them more interesting for insects and birds. Efforts to better guide and inform recreational visitors to the site were to aim to reduce their negative impact on the habitats. Finally, the project would develop methods for monitoring and managing dune habitat types. Results This project is a good demonstration of how military use and nature conservation can be combined to respect one another. It has led to a general management plan for the Vattaja, including detailed restoration plans for dunes, pastures, forests and mires and plans to adjust both military and recreational activities on the site. All restoration objectives for the site were either reached or exceeded. Restoration of habitats - meadows - and dunes was achieved by clearing 15.4 ha of wooded pastures and 8.5 ha of coastal meadows and by clearing stumps and young pines from 70 ha. The project blocked 7.2 km of ditches to restore mires and increased decaying wood and created small clearings across 140 ha of forests. Lake Vatunginjärvi was restored to a gloe lake through the clearing of 15 ha of young forest, constructing a bottom dam and raising the embankment along 450 m of road. Over 18 locations, 30 000 m2 of dunes were recreated, dune plants sown at 10 sites across 17 000 m2 and trees planted at 24 sites over an area of 2 000 m2. Grazing of meadows and some dunes was initiated and agri-environmental support agreements signed to ensure their continuity. The pasture area increased from 20 to nearly 110 ha. Significant agreements were reached on adjusting, restricting and standardising military actions on the site. Many activities were successfully removed from the habitats, involving the relocation of firing stations and related military infrastructures. The military introduced signs and poles to limit access to the dunes and standardise military actions.In total, these measures achieved that use of priority sand dune habitats in military actions decreased by 90% and for other habitats at least 50 %. Good engagement with the military was key to the long-term success of the project. New guidelines were incorporated into the code of conduct of the Defence Forces and a general management plan to guide the use of the area in future was officially approved. Furthermore, the awareness and understanding of the military on nature conservation was vastly improved. Military personnel were even directly involved in many of the project’s restoration actions. As well as the excellent cooperation with the military, the active media work, new dissemination materials and recreational facilities helped improve public understanding and reduce their negative impact. Meanwhile, technical information on the successful restoration and management of dune habitats was provided by monitoring of the project’s actions and is published in reports and DVDs. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section). In May 2015 the LIFE external monitoring team carried out an ex-post follow up visit: The team confirmed the main results of the project, namely the quantitative restoration measures and the awareness raising activities that is continuing. In fact, the project team is still being invited to speak about the restoration and management of dune habitats at international conferences and seminars. Furthermore, the LIFE-built infrastructure is being maintained by Metsähallitus, the Finnish Defence Forces and the Municipality of Kokkola. Grazing is secured from the agri-environmental subsidies and through good cooperation with farmers being expanded to other areas, but some management measures, such as the removal of pine seedlings, requires secure funding. Good cooperation with the local community in general is one of the lasting impacts of the project. Such cooperation was key to achieving acceptance of the need to relocate locally owned cabins away from the military areas, a plan that initially met great resistance.