History and administration
The Platier d'Oye is a natural wetland. In the 18th century, banks of sand
were deposited in front of the Taaf dyke. The construction of a dyke in 1925
prevented the sea from penetrating behind these banks. The Platier d'Oye has
a mixture of white and grey dunes together with shrubs.
During the second world war, the germans built a series of pillboxes in front
of the sea "le mur de l'atlantique", anti-tank walls. The leaning
tower is a simulation of the church tower.
In 1970, a plan was put forward for the construction of 1000 houses to be
built on the site, however, only 150 were built. There are called "les
Ecardines".
In 1979, the ground was acquired by the "Conservatoire du Littoral",
a public body established by the French government in July 1975, with the
remit of ensuring the protection of outstanding natural areas of coastal and
inland wetland habitats.
The Platier d'Oye (a nature reserve since july 7th, 1987) has been under the
administration of EDEN62 with two security guards maintaining both the site
and the safety of the reserve. 
If you want to know more about the nature reserve, you can download the next
document. 