Reintroduction of Marmots to Boost Alto Garda Ecosystem Preservation
A dozen marmots will soon be released into the Parco Alto Garda Bresciano. The new park residents will join the fifty marmots released in recent months, some of which have strengthened the existing colony established years ago in Val di Campo, within the Municipality of Tremosine. Others have created a new colony in Valvestino, under the shadow of the 1,950-meter-high Monte Tombea, where a pair of golden eagles usually nests.
Repopulation Campaign
The marmot reintroduction campaign has a dual purpose: to increase the distribution of this charming species and to enhance the food chain of high Garda fauna, which is topped by the golden eagle. Marmots are among the main prey for this bird of prey. Their introduction is therefore necessary to “broaden” the base of the food pyramid.
We recall that the marmot repopulation campaign (conducted by the Gargnano operational headquarters of the Azienda Regionale delle Foreste, the Hunting and Fishing Offices of the Provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, and the Veterinary Medicine Service of the Asl of Salò) began as part of the «Life Ambiente» project, an initiative of the European Union created as a financial tool to contribute to the development and implementation of the community environmental policy.
The project was launched in January ’98 and is expected to conclude in June 2001. The interventions, with a planned expenditure of 1 billion 165 million lire, will be funded 50 percent by the European Community, 40 percent by the Regione Lombardia, and 10 percent by the Mountain Community. In the Alto Garda area, the project aims to achieve several goals. One of these, also pursued through the release of marmots, is the requalification of the biocenosis of Valvestino (biocenosis refers to the group of individuals of various animal and plant species that coexist in the same environment).
Environmental Recovery and Endemic Flora
In Valvestino, efforts are also underway to recover the so-called “former agricultural” areas—zones historically used for farming and now being reclaimed by the forest. Thanks to the Life Project, about thirty areas have been restored through the removal of shrubs and the sowing of forage crops, preserving the clearings highly valued by certain animal species, including the deer.
A third type of intervention concerns one of the flagship species of the Parco Alto Garda Bresciano: the saxifraga tombeanensis, a rupicolous endemic plant of Tombea, discovered by the Swiss botanist Boissier in 1850. It is the most well-known, though not the only, endemic flower of the protected area. Unfortunately, it has become one of the most heavily collected species by unscrupulous botanists and collectors.
