Wood harvested for sustainable management of the forest around Frontignan and Gardiole

Aurelien Toscan (lunettes) et les agents en charge de la défense de la forêt.

The National Forestry Office is launching a pine and cypress logging program around Frontignan, La Gardiole and Balaruc-les-Bains. The collection operation will be launched by the end of 2024. The ONF is carrying out this action in collaboration with Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée and the Syndicat mixte de la Gardiole.

It is a 184-hectare forest. It belongs to the municipality of Frontignan. The massif will soon be the subject of a felling campaign. The start of the project is scheduled for the end (1) of 2024. One in four trees will disappear from the landscape, i.e. approximately 16 hectares of pine and cypress stands that will be removed. A prefectural decree has already been issued. Removal operations will also take place on other sites in the forest massif (2).

Surgical actions

Franck, a regular on the hiking trails of this forest massif, views this development action favorably because for him, this belt of vegetation overlooking the Col de la Tortoise car park is first and foremost a place to live. “We come here for picnics in the evening in the summer,” declares Franck. There are hunters' houses down there. We have views of the heights, it's fabulous!” he exclaims to those who fear endangering the ecosystem, the National Forestry Office (ONF) wants to be reassuring: “We will carry out surgical actions, that is to say we will not attack the entire forest” indicates Aurélien Toscan, forestry technician, Garrigues territorial unit.

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A deposit of plant species

This operation is being conducted by the National Forestry Office, which manages this deposit of plant species with Sète Agropole Méditerranée in collaboration with the Gardiole Mixed Union. The felling site will cause some inconvenience, particularly machine noise. Access to the plots will be prohibited to the public. The logs will be stored in depot areas, along the roadside before being removed.

Removing the risk of fire

This so-called thinning cut will, among other things, reduce the risk of fire, as if it were necessary to ward off bad luck after the fires that destroyed 300 hectares of forest on Sunday, August 18, 2024. For the cutting program for the end of 2024, “We are going to reduce the mass of fuel,” explains the forestry technician. “There are trees that were planted in the 80s. They were planted tightly together,” he explains. “As the years go by, the trees get bigger. They have to be loosened up.” It is necessary to clear.” This clearing will allow the canopy to be opened to sunlight. The trees will thus use the freed space “to flourish more” emphasizes Aurélien Toscan.

Preserving biodiversity

The cuts allow to create spaces to better preserve biodiversity. The massif is home to families of wild boars, roe deer and also pheasants. The harvested wood will be crushed to make forest chips. These will be used in boiler rooms as in Tarascon. Wood harvesting is one of the ONF's recommendations for sustainable forest management.

Forest Defenders

As Mediterranean forest protection agents. Hassan and his three colleagues are specialists in the DFCI (Forest Fire Defense). “We do everything that involves clearing and maintaining the edges of the trails, they explain. In winter, we cut back all the vegetation to prevent it from growing too much in summer and the flames from spreading in the event of a fire starting.” Hassan and his colleagues are the first responders in the event of a fire. They operate at on board 4×4 forest fire response vehicles carrying a 500 to 600 l water tank.

1. The start date of the felling program remains to be specified.
2. Other municipalities affected by the felling: Vic-la-Gardiole (area: 238 ha for 17 ha to be removed); Balaruc-les-Bains (area: 55 ha for 8 ha to be removed)
3. Gardiole State Forest (area: 906 ha for 33 ha to be removed)