3 new projects selected by the Open Rivers Programme in France

At the end of the summer of 2024, the Open Rivers Programme announced its support for three new projects proposed by ERN in collaboration with local partners:

The town of Argelès-Gazost in the Hautes-Pyrénées will be able to count on the participation of the European Rivers Network and the financial support of the Open Rivers Programme to remove the first obstacle downstream on the Gave d’Azun. Located just a few hundred metres from the confluence with the Gave de Pau, this structure prevents Atlantic salmon from accessing favourable breeding habitats. The work is scheduled for 2025. A “coordinated operation” to restore ecological continuity on the Gave d’Azun is being carried out by the Adour-Garonne water authority and will allow other upstream structures to be treated throughout the year, allowing migratory species to recolonise more than 11 km of the river.

(photo : ©ECOGEA)

Plus d’infos : https://www.ern.org/fr/openrivers/#toggle-id-4 et www.argeles-gazost.fr

At the end of September, the SISMAE association will be carrying out a restoration project on a headwater stream in the Loire département, thanks to the Open Rivers programme, which has helped to finance the budget. The restoration of the watercourse and the removal of two culverts will reconnect the watercourse to the existing wetland and free the stream from all obstacles as far as its source. With its relatively permanent low flows, this watercourse is an important summer refuge for trout and could potentially be recolonised by the white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes, listed as endangered by the IUCN) already present in the downstream tributary. The project is funded by the Agence de l’Eau Loire Bretagne and a number of private sponsors, including the Open Rivers programme with the European Rivers Network, Patagonia and local companies (Rochebillard et Blin, Tiassage Linder, Chambon Paysage). (photo : ©SISMAE)

Plus d’infos : https://www.ern.org/fr/openrivers/#toggle-id-3  Et https://sismae.org/

Finally, on the Eyrieux (Rhône basin), the Syndicat Mixte de l’Eyrieux à Crussol (SMEC) is completing preliminary studies for the complete restoration of an upstream section of the Eyrieux. The work involves removing two weirs that are no longer in use and restoring the river to its original bed at the bottom of the valley, in the section that has been diverted. Fish continuity will be fully restored along 15 km of the upstream Eyrieux by reconnecting it with four of its tributaries, giving a total of 33 km of reconnected main watercourse and 12.5 km of secondary watercourse. In the summer of 2024, the Open Rivers Programme announced that it would also support the works phase, with the studies and works being partly funded by the Open Rivers Programme and supported by the European Rivers Network. (photo ©SMEC)

Plus d’infos : https://www.ern.org/fr/openrivers/#toggle-id-5 Et https://www.eyrieux-clair.fr/