«Where is the line? Demarcation of protected and arable land in Western Zealand, Denmark.»

This article examines the process of demarcating and designating an area as worthy of protection. It unfolds a case study of negotiations of protection of saline and coastal meadows in the former reclaimed inlet Saltbæk Vig, Western Zealand, Denmark. The case shows how representations, such as maps, became increasingly important in demarcating conservation boundaries. To do so, the article uses Bruno Latour’s notion of «immutable mobiles» as products of translations to investigate how an agricultural place became a biological locality. Concluding, the article discusses the use of map tools, such as Geographical Information Systems, for conservation policy and its impact on the perception of places, such as Saltbæk Vig.