YRE Competition 2023
1st Place - Article
19-25 years old
By Hugo Marrequeste, and Emma Venancie
In winter, Black grouse feed on pine and spruce needles, a low energy food.
Photo credit : istock
In winter, during its resting period, the Black grouse, an emblematic bird of the Isère mountains (France), is threatened by human presence. The regional natural parks are working to raise awareness among hikers and skiers about the fragility of biodiversity.
At an altitude of more than 1,500 meters, in the regional natural park (RNP) of Chartreuse, in Isère, lives a black gallinaceous bird, with red eyebrows and a remarkable tail. Its name : the Black grouse. On a wooden panel, at the beginning of the hiking trail leading to the Col du Coq, the protected species are shown. In the center, the Black grouse. 15% of its national population lives in Isère.
This little known species is nevertheless the symbol of the Alps. «It is an «umbrella species». When it is doing well, we know that other species are in good health,» explains Catherine Balestra, tourism manager of the Chartreuse RNP.
Depending on the season, the bird lives in different areas. In winter, it takes refuge in the forests of fir and spruce. «If we preserve the natural environment of the Black grouse, we protect the habitats of many other species,» says Anaëlle Atamaniuk, in charge of wildlife missions at the league for the protection of birds (LPO in french) Auvergne Rhône-Alpes.
The protected species sign at the trailhead.
Photo credit: Emma Venancie
A species sensitive to human presence
In winter, the Black grouse builds an igloo in the snow, where the temperature does not go below zero degrees. «This allows it to saves energy», says David Leroy, guard of the high plateaus of the RNP of Vercors. When a skier passes by, it takes flight and flees from its shelter. A considerable energy expenditure. «It does not return to the same place because it thinks it has narrowly escaped a predator,» he insists. If it is disturbed too many times, it dies.
Its population is stable for the moment but «It can drop rapidly», warns the guard.
With a habitat already weakened by global warming and melting snow, the population of this small animal is decreasing. Each year, the Observatory of Mountain Galliformes and the Isère hunters’ federation count between 2,000 and 2,500 roosters in the department. However, in twenty years, they have lost 9% of their habitat. «There is a decrease in Chartreuse and in the Vercors» a member of the Isère hunters’ federation remarked.
Because even if this species is fragile, it is still hunted. And the more hikers and the more skiers there are, the more likely this bird is to be disturbed. Its cousin, the capercaillie, disappeared from the Alps in 2007 due to the destruction of its habitat.
A shepherd’s crook in hand, a hiker came running in the Chartreuse mountains after a morning’s work. «The Black grouse is a plant, right ?» he asks. This construction worker lives inSaint-Hilaire-du-Touvet, only a few kilometers away from the Col du Coq. However, this regular visitor does not know the animal. A lack of knowledge which results in progressive invasion.
Over-visitation since the end of Covid
In Chartreuse, since the beginning of the Covid crisis, the increase in the influx of tourism is intensifying on several sites. In 2017, 75,000 visitors had climbed the Charmant Som. Three years later, they were 90,000, a 20% increase in attendance. The ski resorts, which were closed after the first lockdown, have seen an explosion in cross-country skiing and hiking.
The hiker admits: «Since the Covid, I’ve been hiking a little more. I’m trying to run less in every direction and take advantage of Friday afternoons to walk alone in the mountains.»
The establishment of quiet zones
The parks then decided to set up quiet zones. These spaces allow the gallinaceous to rest without being disturbed. The Chartreuse natural regional park took this initiative in 2016 by establishing five zones. When arriving on the plateau of les petites roches, between the Col du Coq and Pravouta, yellow and black ropes delimit a space not to be crossed.
Between the summit of Pravouta and the dent de Crolles, a resting area for black grouse has been set up.
Photo credit: Hugo Marrequeste
On a scrap metal sign, the little animal is represented with its wings crossed.«Winter refuge, please avoid this area,» it says. This device is installed by guards and volunteers from the beginning of winter until the end of May.
But the measure is only incentive. «We warn people that they are going to cross a rest area. We ask them not to go there. It is more or less respected,» says David Leroy.
For the moment, no study has been carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative «based on the common sense of the practitioners who will not receive any fine in case of non-respect», supports Anaëlle Atamaniuk of the LPO.
But according to them, these zones at least discourage some skiers.
Directing hikers to other trails
Catherine Balestra wishes to communicate more carefully about the walks. «In the future, between March and June, we will less promote certain walks, because we know that certain species are reproducing.» These choices are also accompanied by simple but effective actions such as closing the road to access the Col du coq in winter. «This allows us to drastically reduce the number of hikers and not to disturb the local fauna,» reports Vincent Neirinck member of Mountain Wilderness, an association for the protection of the mountain.
Are other restrictions on the agenda? «Not for the moment,» says Anaëlle Atamaniuk, while other places in the Chartreuse already set limits for visitors. This is the case of the circus of Saint- Même, which is forbidden to access at certain times of the year once the parking lot is full. «It would be necessary to limit the practices of nature sports or setting up a municipal decree», claims the person in charge of LPO missions. The actors of the Alps are not finished committing themselves to the preservation of this species.
References:
http://www.mercantour-parcnational.fr/fr/des-connaissances/le-patrimoine-naturel/la-faune-du-mercantour/tetras-lyre
https://www.chasse38.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Depliant-tetras-lyre.pdf
https://isere.ffrandonnee.fr/html/4298/le-tetras-lyre
https://www.observatoire-galliformes-montagne.com/Tetras-lyre.html