Last Monday, March 23, a visit was made to the plantations developed in the interpopulation corridor in the framework of the LIFE Project «Habitat Defragmentation for the Brown Bear in the Cantabrian Mountains». The visit was attended by the General Director of the Natural Environment of the Junta de Castilla y León, José Ángel Arranz, the mayor of La Pola de Gordón, Francisco Castañón, and the President of the Brown Bear Foundation , Guillermo Palomero.

LIFE Bear Defragmentation is a project coordinated by FOP and developed in cooperation with the Junta de Castilla y León. The project will be carried out until June 2016, mainly on the southern slope of the interpopulation corridor of the Cantabrian brown bear. Its total budget is 1,240,000 €, with the European Commission contributing 75% of the total. It is co-financed by Gas Natural Fenosa, the Junta de Castilla y León and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and with the support of the Principado de Asturias and the Leon municipalities of Los Barrios de Luna, Cármenes, La Pola de Gordón, Sena de Luna, Valdelugueros, Valdepiélago, Vegacervera and Villamanín.

The project is based on a previous study of the habitat quality and connectivity in the corridor, which has allowed to locate the main black spots with greater habitat improvement needs. With an original approach, a network of 180 connectivity small forests are strategically planted in the corridors, composed by autochthonous trees producing food and shelter for the bear. In addition, another 32 coverage forests will be planted in the surroundings of the existing passages in the main highway crossing the corridor. The plantations are established considering the requirements of the brown bear, the ecological suitability and the compatibility with the uses of the territory. There will be 68,000 native trees of species such as whitebeam , rowan , cherry , alpine buckthorn , apple tree , alder buckthorn and birch .

To date, 17,000 trees have been planted in the municipalities of Sena de Luna, Los Barrios de Luna, La Pola de Gordón and Valdelugueros . The plants have been produced in the Forestry Nursery of the Junta de Castilla y León and, to a lesser extent, in the CIUDEN Forestry Nursery of the Autonomous Organism of National Parks, from seeds collected by the FOP in the region of origin and with its due phytosanitary passport and official certificate of origin.

Mars 2015

From left to right, Francisco Castañon, José Ángel Arranz and Guillermo Palomero planting a tree.

After an intense work of reconnaissance of the land and fruitful debates with proprietors, local councils and municipalities, at the end of 2014 the LIFE Defragmentation project has signed the first seven Land Stewardship Agreements for the plantation of the connectivity forests. The agreements have been signed with the local councils of Los Barrios de Gordón, Los Barrios de Luna, Cerulleda, Irede de Luna, Rabanal de Luna and Robledo de Caldas and with the municipalities of Los Barrios de Luna, Sena de Luna and Valdelugueros, all they in Leon.
These agreements establish a framework of cooperation to carry out the actions of native tree plantation in each area selected inside the interpopulation corridor of the Cantabrian brown bear and within Natura 2000 sites. They include the commitments of the boards or municipalities and local councils for the transfer of land, the promotion of information and participation among neighbors and the maintenance and conservation of plantations for at least the next 30 years, together with the commitments made by the Brown Bear Foundation to carry out the previously agreed plantations, guarantee their maintenance and care, and organize information and collaboration activities with neighbors.
This winter, plantations are being carried out following the recommendations of the technicians of the Junta de Castilla y León, and with the corresponding permits and authorizations. Land Stewardship is a tool that allows the owners and users of the territory to be involved in the conservation of natural resources through their collaboration with conservation organizations. FOP has been developing Land Stewardship for many years, sharing the ownership of bear mountains with the neighbors of the area and establishing agreements with hunters, owners and municipalities to improve the habitat of the brown bear.

December 2014

The mayor of Valdelugueros and the president of the FOP, at the signing of the agreement