44,000 hectares of alpine forests, grasslands, and ridges: Orobie Valtellinesi Park stretches from 900 meters to over 3,000 meters above sea level. It winds through mountains that hold the secrets of a pristine nature, including rare animals and plants. Among the fauna, the wood grouse is the symbol of the park. It is one of the alpine species with the biggest conservation problems, at the point that it has already become extinct in the Western Alps, and is about to disappear in Lombardy as well.

Direct interventions on the territory are needed to ensure the survival of this animal. Indeed, during the mating period, or “crowing period,” it requires open spaces like meadows, pastures and clearings. It is a species that likes to perform a dance called a “parade”, with its tail fanned out and head backward. Due to the abandonment of agricultural activities in the mountains, green spaces are slowly being lost. The project, which is part of the Bioclima project, aims to recreate or improve some areas within the park. Its ultimate scope is to realign nature to the grouse needs and increase biodiversity.

In fact, the grouse will not be the only animal benefitting from these interventions: the black grouse, the dwarf owl, the hazel grouse, the red-crowned owl, the black woodpecker, and many other species will also find a more suitable habitat for their needs.

This project is co-funded by the Lombardy Region’s Biodiversity and Climate Call (BioClima) and supported by Fondazione Cariplo. Bioclima is an initiative created within the framework of the Lombardy Plan and the LIFE GESTIRE 2020 project that aims to create public-private financing models to catalyze investment in biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation projects in Lombardy’s forests and protected areas.