2024-08-05 02:30:04
Wind paths between stones, forest and Lobel broom. Connecting almost 6 kilometers from the Bimont dam to the Croix de Provence, at almost 1,000 meters above sea level, the Imoucha trail is an exemplary tour of the Sainte-Victoire mountain, east of Aix-en- Provence (Bouches- du-Rhône). The site is grandiose, but the original route is often barely recognizable. The surrounding vegetation is crushed and the ecosystem is damaged, the road is “moving” in places by 5 meters or more.
Since the Covid-19 epidemic, the 400 kilometers of trails in the Concors and Sainte-Victoire massifs have become increasingly popular, with attendance increasing by 3% each year. More than 130,000 people now use the Imoucha route every year. “Before, attendance was mainly in the spring and fall. Today, it is done all year round, and leaves no rest for creation”Notes Olivier Frégeac, President of the great field and Mayor (Les Républicains) of Peyrolles-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône).
Travelers overcome each other, leave the route and enter the local ecosystems, also avoid problems, rocks that are difficult to pass because they are high or slippery. And the ways to avoid, traced through the lives of visitors through the plants, often appear more clearly, even more comfortable, than the original way.
Many species are protected
To limit the effects of this struggle, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and the Grand Site de France have submitted a file to restore the trail as part of the “Nature Trails” call for projects opened by the Center of Revolution and Institutions for studies and understanding on risks, environment, mobility and planning in September 2022.
Their application, the winner of the competition, consists of “Stop public transport which destroys natural areas, protect biodiversity”or even encouragement “restoration of many natural areas through road rehabilitation”. This renaturation allows “Find natural habitats of special interest, such as grasslands, lowlands”, explains the project architect, Xavier Boutin. During the first surgery performed a few years ago, “by the guests became clean, 2 hectares of the bakery and all its habitats were recovered very quickly”he assured them.
The ecology of Sainte-Victoire is considerable, with many species protected and sometimes threatened by the cluster, including Bonelli’s eagle, male deer, ocellated lizard, Drôme ophrys (an orchid), pitchou warbler, Lacaita gagée or even Edwards psammodrome (a small lizard).
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