This reserve is managed through an agreement with the Pámanes Neighbourhood Council, the Liérganes Town Council and the Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre.

Pozos de Valcaba is located at the foot of the southern slope of Peña Cabarga, inside the Natural Area of the Peña Cabarga Massif. It can be accessed from the Barrio Tarriba de Arriba in the town of Pámanes.

The site consists of two lagoons or ponds of mining origin, which emerged during the extraction of iron ore that occurred in different parts of the massif, like Cabárceno, from Roman times until the late twentieth century. The wells are surrounded by different ecosystems that are very typical in Cantabria, such as the Cantabrian oak grove on limestone, the mixed forest of hardwoods or the riverside forest, which means that there are many species of native fauna, among which the badger, wild boar, roe deer, cormorant, white stork and many passerine and birds of prey stand out.

However, the cessation of mining exploitation did not lead to a restoration process, so at present the Cantabrian oak grove is combined with an area located near the ponds occupied by opportunistic and invasive species. The riverbank is colonized by black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and a large area is populated by pampa grass (Cortaderia selloana).

Habitat recovery is currently underway, which will reduce the area of black locust and pampa grass, while increasing the diversity of flora and fauna species in the ecosystems represented. On the other hand, the nesting of the sand martin and the white stork has been favoured by the installation of nesting boxes.

Collaborators:

• Pámanes Neighborhood Council.
• Liérganes Town Hall.
• Department of the Environment of the Government of Cantabria.