Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park (French:

Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park (French: Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez) is a regional natural park located on three French department : Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire and Loire. The two biggest urban areas are Thiers (19,000 inhabitants ...

) is a regional natural park located on three French department :

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche ...

and

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. The two biggest urban areas are Thiers (19,000 inhabitants) and

Ambert Ambert (; Auvergnat: ''Embèrt'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Administration Ambert is the seat of the canton of Ambert and the arrondissement of Ambert. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. ...

(11,000 inhabitants).

Courpière Courpière (; Auvergnat: ''Corpèira'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. Population Tour de France cycle race Courpiere was on the stage 14 route of the 2020 Tour de France See also *C ...

Billom Billom (; Auvergnat: ''Bilhom'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Population Notable natives Billom was the birthplace of the philosopher Georges Bataille. It was also the birthp ...

and Vic-le-Comte have a secondary place in the territory.

Presentation

The park is managed by several structures on a cooperation basis. There is the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region, Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire and Loire's departments, by 24 EPCI (French: Établissements publics de coopération intercommunale, which are Public institutions of intercommunal cooperation) and also by 164 towns certified parc naturel régional (Regional natural park). Since March 2008, Tony Bernard, Châteldon's mayor, presides the park. The certified zone of the park covers an area of 311,035 hectares. Its population is of 103 948 inhabitants.

History and creation of the park

* Under the presidence of Maurice Adevah-Pœuf, Thier's mayor and deputy of Puy-de-Dôme, an association for the creation of the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park is established in April 1982 at the suggestion of seventeen elected reunited 29 November 1981 in Brugeron. * In 1984 is created the management mixed union of the Livradois-Forez Park. * The environment ministry assigned its label in December 1985. * The Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park was created on 4 February 1986 by deliberation of the Auvergne regional council. * Its constitutive charter was re-examined two times, so the label was assigned again in 1998 ; an extension decree of the Regional Natural Park for the next twelve years was published in Journal Officiel (French government website) on 27 July 2011. On the occasion of this latest review, five municipalities of Loire's department joined for the first time the park : Noirétable, La Chamba, La Chambonie, Jeansagnière et Lérigneux. Its headquarters, originally in Thiers, is now located in the municipality named Saint-Gervais-sous-Meymont.

Geography

Vic-le-Comte - Place du Vieux-Marché -584

Located between the old Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes regions, the park extends 110 km from north to south, in three departments (Puy-de-Dôme, Allier and Haute-Loire). It's composed of 176 municipalities gathering 103,172 inhabitants in 2014. The high point of the park (1634 m) corresponds to the high point of the Mountains of Forez and is located in Pierre-sur-Haute on the territory of Job's municipality, in Puy-de-Dôme's department (IGN 2732 E). Some big geographic zones: * the valley of factories in Thiers's municipality (in the North of the park); * the valley of the Dore, which constitutes a sort of backbone of the park; * the mountains of the Forez with upland plateaus covered with highland moors called Hautes Chaumes; * Craponne's plateau; * the countries cut off from Livradois; * Livradois's mountains, including the high forest plateaus; * hills and hillsides of the county around Vic-le-Comte and Billom's region

Demography

The park is constituted of two major cities, Thiers and Ambert. There are other urban areas but less important. The majority of the biggest cities in the park tend to see its population decrease. Meanwhile, Thiers the biggest city of the park, increase.

Fauna

We can find various raptors in the Livradois-Forez regional natural park :

pigeons Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

, circaete Jean-le-Blanc,

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

, harrier Saint-Martin, gray buzzard, tengmalm owl,

little owl The little owl (''Athene noctua''), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at ...

, etc. The

Black woodpecker The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

and the

Ring ouzel The ring ouzel (''Turdus torquatus'') is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, in length and weighing . The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females ...

can also be seen in the park.

Publications

Apart from its punctual participation as a supporter, editor of numerous books (historics, etc.) published by various editors of the region, the Park released a twice yearly 8 page magazine, ''Journal du Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez'', which contents are linked to the environment protection, social life, traditions and culture.

Films shot in the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural

Before the creation of the parc

* 1965 : Les Copains a French film directed by

Yves Robert Yves Robert (19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting with ...

* 1976 :

L'argent de poche ''Small Change'' (french: L'Argent de poche) is a 1976 in film, 1976 Cinema of France, French film directed by François Truffaut about childhood innocence and child abuse. In English-speaking countries outside North America, the film is known as ...

a French film directed by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

in Thiers

Since the creation of the parc

* 1990 :

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...

a French film directed by

Claude Berri Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Early life Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), w ...

* 1993 : Le Chasseur de la Nuit a French film directed by Jacques Renard * 1995 : Le Garçu a French film directed by

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

* 2002 : Être et avoir a French documentary directed by

Nicolas Philibert Nicolas Philibert (; born 10 January 1951) is a French film director and actor. Biography Philibert's father was a film lecturer and he attended his talks in his youth. This encouraged him to embark on a film career. He started this with Ren� ...

* 2004 :

Les Choristes ''Les Choristes'' ("The Chorus" or "The Chorus Singers") is an 1877 pastel on monotype by French artist Edgar Degas. Part of a series of similar works depicting daily public entertainment at the time, it shows a group of singers performing a scen ...

a French film directed by

Christophe Barratier Christophe Barratier (born 17 June 1963) is a French film producer, director and screenwriter, and lyricist. Early life and education Barratier is the son of the actress Eva Simonet and M. Barratier. He is the nephew of the film director Jacques ...

* 2007 : Le Piano oublié a French film directed by

Henri Helman Henri Helman (born 1947) is a French director and screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass medi ...

Notes and references

External links

Site officiel du parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez
* Association in

Fayet-Ronaye Fayet-Ronaye is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. History Initially, Ronaye and Fayet were two separate villages, hence the presence of a church in both of them. They used to belong to the family of Grelle ...

organizing village festivals, garage sales and publishing a local newspape
"Vivre à Fayet-Ronaye"
{{Authority control Regional natural parks of France Geography of Puy-de-Dôme Geography of Haute-Loire Geography of Loire (department) Protected areas established in 1986 Tourist attractions in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes by department Tourist attractions in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourist attractions in Haute-Loire Tourist attractions in Puy-de-Dôme Tourist attractions in Loire (department) 1986 establishments in France