In addition to the species protection concept for the Hambach opencast mine, covering around 1,400 hectares, which was implemented several years ago, RWE Power has implemented voluntary measures for biotope networking between the forests in the southern vicinity of the opencast mine in recent years. These measures contribute to the ecosystem network referred to in the guiding decisions of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and are already shaping the environment of the Hambach opencast mine on the areas no longer designated for opencast mining. Specifically, between 2022 and 2024, wooded corridors and ecological stepping stones were created between the Hambach Forest, the Merzenich Erbwald and the Steinheide (approx. 12.5 hectares of linear tree-hedge structures). The linear networks have been fully planted and are effective. In addition, more than 20 hectares of open parkland have been created adjacent to the Hambach Forest on land south of Forsthausstraße. All of the plantings benefit bats that hunt close to the ground in particular, serving as a guiding structure and food habitat, including the Bechstein’s bat, which has its roots in the Hambach Forest. And other species benefit from it too. The effectiveness of the species protection concept has been reviewed by independent experts for more than a decade. The number of species is determined, and the flight routes and hunting areas of the bats are identified using telemetry. These studies prove that the new guidance and feeding structures are being used and accepted by the animals.