Life Elia

In Haute Durance (Hautes Alpes, 05), our project takes place in parallel in the renovation of the electricity transmission network led by RTE (Electricity Transmission System Operator in France). LIFE's restoration works can therefore occur once the high-tension lines have been constructed on site, in this mountainous region of the Hautes Alpes.

The effective launch of RTE works took place in the end of the summer 2015.

Seeds harvest before planting

The LIFE team has launched a harvest of native hardwood species seeds < http://www.life-elia.eu/en/News/Fruit-harvests-in-Haute-Durance-for-a-plantation-on-site-in-2017-F- > to allow the nursery Robin put these plants in culture, with an objective of planting on site in 2017. The plants will be supplied in buckets, it should allow a longer planting period.

Besides this action to create edges, it is also planned to restore mountain dry grasslands and boost the population of milkvetch (Astragalus alopecurus).

Field meeting with local partners

On October 7th and 8th  2015, meetings were held in Gap with local partners of the LIFE project.

A first meeting took place on October 7th at the headquarters of the Alpine National Botanical Conservatory (CBNA). Responsible for the scientific mission in the CBNA, the consultancy office for ecological expertise and mediation (ECOMED) and LIFE team have discussed on the restoration and communication issues as well as on the agenda of the coming months.

 The CBNA, through an agreement, will assist the LIFE team in specific tasks:

- Restoration of dry grasslands: producing maps of potential sites for seed harvests, seed harvesting, germination tests, drafting specifications for soil preparation and seeding, actions follow-up.

- Boosting the population of Astragalus alopecarius : authorization for harvest, sowing and transplantation

- Assistance in drafting a brochure and a handbook on good grassland habitat restoration practices in the high mountains.

A further meeting, specific to these educational and technical tools, is already scheduled for November 26th.

Complete information for all local partners

To ensure the success of such a project involving so many partners, it is crucial to inform each of them completely.

A second meeting was held on October 8th, still in Gap but this time at the headquarters of the Departmental Territories Direction (DDT).

The aim of the meeting was to allow ECOMED (Project management assistance of RTE) to tell about the status of RTE's work in the construction of the renovated lines, and on environmental procedures.

In the process, the LIFE team presented the overall progress of the LIFE in Belgium, France and at European level. A more precise focus was given on the sites of the Haute Durance, also the restoration actions chosen site by site were presented, and a calendar of implementation was given.

Besides the speakers at this meeting (RTE, ECOMED and LIFE Elia-RTE), many local stakeholders were involved in the discussions. The services of the State: DREAL, DDT, ONF; the Chamber of Agriculture, the facilitator Natura 2000, the voluntary sector (Arn), ...

The meeting allowed to put all these players to the same level of knowledge of the LIFE and its projects during the coming months.