The regional scientific council for natural heritage (CSRPN) issued an unfavorable opinion on the project to reintroduce the capercaillie in the Vosges, considering that "the conditions
(...) are not met
", announced Wednesday March 8 the prefecture in a press release.
The capercaillie, or capercaillie, is the largest wild land bird in Europe.
It is considered "
vulnerable
" on the French red list of threatened species and its hunting has been banned in France for five years since last September.
Last chance to maintain the species
The bird is present in particular in the Pyrenees, the Cévennes and the Jura.
In the Vosges, only half a dozen individuals have been identified.
On February 22, the prefect of the department and the president of the Regional Natural Park (PNR) of Ballons des Vosges brought together the steering committee of the project to strengthen the Capercaillie for a progress report.
Bringing together several partners and donors working to preserve this bird, this committee had validated the reinforcement project in December 2021, recalls the prefecture in a press release.
Presented as the last chance to maintain the species, this project included the capture of wild birds from Scandinavia and their release in the Vosges mountains, where their introduction would have been monitored with the aim of halting the extinction of the species. 'species.
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But to the question: “
Do the project and its accompanying measures prevent the extinction of the population on the massif for the next 5 years?
“, the scientific council responded unfavorably, in an opinion issued on February 21.
For the CSRPN, the file presented "
lacks maturity
" and "
has too many gaps in terms of taking into account the factors behind the collapse of capercaillie populations in the Vosges
".
For the scientific council, "
the essential conditions for the re-establishment of a viable population of capercaillie are obviously not met
".
It "
recommends continuing and expanding the actions already underway to restore the proper functioning of the ecosystem, on the scale of the Vosges massif
", considering that, "
even in the absence of capercaillie
", such actions “
remain fully justified in view of the many current and future challenges concerning biodiversity in all its forms
”.
The council is particularly concerned about “
the increase in tourism and outdoor activities within the natural spaces of the Vosges
”.
A new progress report will be carried out at the next Tétras Vosges committee meeting, scheduled for the end of the summer.