In the Morvan, a sanctuary for beeches, oaks, chestnuts

2023-06-09 07:00:30

A forestry group, which brings together more than 2,000 people, buys wood to preserve the diversity of species.

The forest of Montmain, in the Morvan… The forest of her childhood… The one where Lucienne Haèse played or accompanied her father to cut wood. “We were a large and poor family but I had a wonderful childhood because I had the forest of Montmain”, told the one who is nicknamed Lulu du Morvan and who has just celebrated her 82nd spring. When she learned that its owner, the Fondation de France, was selling this forest dear to her heart, her blood boiled. It was in 2000. For more than ten years already, Lucienne Haèse had been concerned about the fate of the trees of the massif: nearly 300,000 hectares, on the borders of the Côte-d’Or, the Nièvre, the Saône-et- Loire and Yonne.

During her hikes, she could see it clearly: oaks, beech trees, chestnut trees were felled. They gave way to softwoods which, cut every eight to ten years, are more profitable. But these clear cuts release carbon and, for lack of shade, the plots are white-hot and the…

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