The LIFE Ricotí Project signs agreements with landowners to restore and improve more than 300 hectares of the Dupont’s lark habitat

During the last quarter of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, the Fundación Patrimonio Natural de Castilla y León with the support of the Mancomunidad de Obras y Servicios de Corpes, both partners of the LIFE Ricotí consortium carried out the signing of three agreements to restore and improve more than 300 hectares of the Dupont’s lark habitat.

Two of the three agreements have been signed with public entities, the City Council of Baraona and the City Council of Retortillo, and the third one with a private owner of the municipality of Medinaceli in the south of Soria. These agreements provide more than 300 hectares for the LIFE Ricotí Project that will enable the implementation of the project’s actions C1 and C2. These actions aim to the restoration of suitable habitat for the Dupont’s lark, by withdrawing 50 hectares of pine wood repopulation with serious phytosanitary problems and poorly developed, thinning forest of oak trees in a surface of 252 hectares, and restoring 5,16 hectares of serious topographical alterations.

These actions intend to reach an optimal state, from the point of view of the characteristics of the suitable habitat for the Dupont’s lark, lands that were repopulated with tree species or that have suffered a considerable increase of the tree stratum because of low livestock pressure. In both cases, the result was the withdrawal of these lands by the Dupont’s lark, which aims to reverse with planned restoration actions.

The landowners, both public or private, will receive a series of remunerations to allow the implementation of these actions in their lands, the most important being the payment of a financial compensation to ensure the availability of the lands and the granting of authorizations to realise relevant works of improvement of the habitat. The total amount of the economic compensation will be superior to 66 000 euros, and will cover a 20-30 years period, as established in the partnership agreements.

The signing of the agreements constitutes a step forward for the project, since it ensures the implementation of every action within the deadlines that were set, and, more importantly, it gives 300 new hectares of suitable habitat to the Dupont’s lark.

Since the creation of the LIFE Ricotí Project, we would like to thank the support granted by the City Councils and private landowners who contribute to the project. This framework suggests a better future for such a threatened species that is the Dupont’s lark.

These agreements are the first step to establish the necessary area of co-existence between the wildlife conservation and the essential socio-economic development of this underpopulated region in the south of Soria.