Haute Vallée de la Sarthe translated as the Upper Sarthe Valley is a Natura 2000 conservation area that is 3,503 hectares in size.
Geography
The area is an Alluvial plain in a valley that commonly floods in winter. It is mainly consisted of sparse natural meadows crossed by a very developed hydrographic network (numerous tributaries, ditches).
It is spread across 29 different communes within the Orne department and 4 within the Sarthe department;
Alençon Barville Bazoches-sur-Hoëne Bures Buré Cerisé Champeaux-sur-Sarthe Chenay Coulonges-sur-Sarthe Hauterive Héloup Laleu Mahéru Mesnières-en-Bray Mieuxcé Moulins-le-Carbonnel Moulins-la-Marche Le Ménil-Broût Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe Le Plantis Saint-Agnan-sur-Sarthe Saint-Aubin-de-Courteraie Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis Saint-Julien-sur-Sarthe Saint-Léger-sur-Sarthe Saint-Martin-des-Pézerits Saint Paterne - Le Chevain Sainte-Scolasse-sur-Sarthe Semallé Valframbert Villeneuve-en-Perseigne Les Ventes-de-Bourse
Some parts of this Natura 2000 site are within the Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park.
Conservation
The conservation area has nineteen species listed in Annex 2 of the Habitats Directive;
Northern crested newt European bullhead Cottus perifretum Brook lamprey European bitterling Great capricorn beetle Marsh fritillary Jersey tiger European stag beetle Hermit beetle Narrow-mouthed whorl snail Desmoulin's whorl snail Western barbastelle Eurasian otter Bechstein's bat Geoffroy's bat Greater mouse-eared bat Greater horseshoe bat Lesser horseshoe bat
In addition the Natura 2000 site has 7 habitats protected under the Habitats Directive.
References