The rural landscape in Poland has been changing for the past several dozen years. The changes are visible in the land use and land cover. Technological progress, changes in people’s outlook and a low profitability of agriculture resulted in transformations of rural landscapes, especially in the areas of high level of land fragmentation, as it is the case in the south part of Poland. These changes are accompanied by growing awareness of environmental or cultural landscape protection related issues. Recent years have also brought new forms of environmental protection, for example the programme Natura 2000, being the result of agreements with European Union. The network of Natura 2000 cover the areas of special protection of birds, habitats, and according to the Act on Nature Conservation – areas of special interest for the Community. The goal of this form of protection is a preservation of valuable or engendered elements of biodiversity. The question arises then whether in the era of landscape transformations and changes of land cover qualifying a particular area as part of Natura 2000 network has any influence on the way of land use. The aim of the article is an analysis and evaluation of land cover changes, also in the areas covered by Natura 2000 programme, within the piedmont commune of Nowy Targ in Małopolskie Voivodeship. Moreover, a thesis is proposed that submontane lands, specifically used, due to large terrain height differences, are faced with less intense urbanization pressures and land transformations. Is it also the case of the Nowy Targ commune, covered in more than 22% by the Natura 2000 areas?