On the territory of two neighboring districts, Gatchina and Luga, the four towns: Mshinskaya, thicket, and Torkovichi Divenskaya, it is a federal complex reserve "Mshinskaya swamp."

The reserve was founded after the decision of the Leninsky Executive Committee March 29, 1976. The main purpose of his creation - the protection of intact largest bog of the Leningrad region, which includes seven lakes, where the origins of the eight rivers. In the early 80-ies sanctuary converted into a Republican, and in 1994, the decision of the Russian Government, attached to the wetlands of international importance "Mshinskaya swamp the system."

Area of ​​the reserve more than 69 thousand hectares, with 9000 hectares occupied by lakes, the largest of which are Strečno and Białe. The natural complex also includes Lake Wilderness, Mochalische, Oseyka, Litvinov, bogs, which are a kind of frame lakes loon lakes, sources of rivers and Rakitinki Zhelezyanki (South).

The territory covers an area of ​​watershed Oredezh and Lizard. The map shows that the sanctuary has an elongated shape in the meridional direction. The array consists of 10 ridge-ozerkovyh and separately located marshes, where heather grows abundantly and rhynchospora white.

A small portion of the reserve is occupied by pine-shrub-sphagnum bogs.

Northwest array reserve is under mezoevtrofnymi arrays cotton grass-sphagnum bogs of shift, which borders the marshy shore of black alder. There alder swamps and on the southern border of the land. Molosovskie lake in the southeast of the array is surrounded by several key eutrophic marshes overgrown hypnum mosses, black alder, grasses, sorrel, marigold, orchids (Epipactis palustris and losnyak Lezelya). Flora Lakes - diverse. There are thickets of horsetail, sphagnum quagmire, reeds, cattails, pondweed floating, Potbelly, sparganium straight, lilies and mollusk. In the early 20th century in the lakes Białe Strechnoi was seeded rice water.

At the reserve grows 636 species of vascular plants and about 130 species of moss. The forests along the lakes and swamps dominated by conifers, spruce forests have dubravnotravnye with maple and lungwort. Grow here grove and blueberries, wild ginger, goutweed. You can often find birch and aspen forests.

Fauna is common to southern taiga. The reserve population live ermine, hare, badgers, deer, martens, brown bears, weasels, otters, bobcats. In 1950, the Lake and the Białe Strečno family of muskrats were issued black uniforms, which is found here and now. There are in the reserve and rare species of birds. It is home to quails, golden plover, red-necked grebes, white and black storks, black vultures, medium and large curlews, bitterns large, gray and white ptarmigan, osprey, gray cranes, klintuha, European Turtle Dove, Great Grey Owl, gray shrikes. In nooks lakes nest garganey, shoveler, marsh harrier, Common Pochard. Studies zoologists discovered and rare species of reptiles and amphibians - anguis brittle, crested newt. Are found also edible frog, sand lizard, grass snake.

Specially Protected by law in the reserve are the bodies of water lakes and rare species of animals and plants - Epipactis palustris, losnyak Lezelya, Naiad big epipogium aphyllum and sand lizard, crested newt, osprey, white and black storks, quail, crane, white and gray partridges gray shrike, badgers, deer, black muskrat, lynx, otter.

Despite the fact that the reserve is 99% bordered by forests, for its ecosystem are a serious threat in the direction of expanding the protected land area of ​​private economy, communications networks and areas for recreation.

The reserve is strictly prohibited deforestation, construction, communications, carrying out reclamation work, hunting, fishing from boats.