The Site is an unspoilt characteristic coastal Atlantic mire and lake system and one of the largest mire and wetland systems in Norway. The area is dotted with hundreds of ponds and lakes. The pine Pinus sylvestris found on the peripheries is partly of old growth character. The Site is an important breeding area for several bird species, most notably the Southern dunlin (Calidris alpina subsp. schinzii). In total 60 bird species were recorded at the Site, at least 35 of them breeding. Human uses include low-impact fishing and bird watching. A programme is monitoring the endangered freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, and another is testing for a possible increase in nitrogen levels in precipitation, after a gas refinery was established some four kilometres away.