The work addresses the deviation legislation of the states using the example of nature conservation law. The state legislation that was enacted in response to the new Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG 2010) following the failure of the Environmental Code represents the first application of this new type of competence, which has only existed since the Federalism Reform of 2006. After a concise overview of how competencies function in nature conservation law, the author focuses on the question of what objectives the state legislators aim to achieve and what conceptual designs they employ to utilize their new competencies. The differing regulations in the nature conservation laws of the states enacted by the end of 2011 are analyzed with regard to thematic deviation focal points and their impact on the practice of legal application.