Haute Vallée de la Sarthe translated as the Upper Sarthe Valley is a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

conservation area that is 3,503 hectares in size.

Geography

The area is an

Alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

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 Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

department; #

Alençon Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alen� ...

# Barville #

Bazoches-sur-Hoëne Bazoches-sur-Hoëne () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. Geography The commune along with another 32 communes is part of a 3,503 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called the Haute vallée de la Sarthe. Populat ...

# Bures # Buré # Cerisé # Champeaux-sur-Sarthe # Chenay # Coulonges-sur-Sarthe # Hauterive # Héloup # Laleu # Mahéru # Mesnières-en-Bray # Mieuxcé # Moulins-le-Carbonnel #

Moulins-la-Marche Moulins-la-Marche is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Geography The Commune is one of 27 communes that make up the Natura 2000 protected area of Bocages et vergers du sud Pays d'Auge. In addition the commune along wi ...

Le Ménil-Broût Le Ménil-Broût () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It is around 10 km north-east of Alençon, 50 km north of Le Mans, and 150 km west of Paris. Geography The commune along with another 32 communes ...

# Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe # Le Plantis # Saint-Agnan-sur-Sarthe #

Saint-Aubin-de-Courteraie Saint-Aubin-de-Courteraie () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Geography The commune along with another 32 communes is part of a 3,503 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called the Haute vallée de la Sarthe. S ...

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It lies on the river Sarthe from Alençon, the chef-lieu of the department, and some west of Paris. It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère. ...

# Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis # Saint-Julien-sur-Sarthe #

Saint-Léger-sur-Sarthe Saint-Léger-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Saint-Léger on Sarthe (river), Sarthe'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Orne Departments of France, department in north-western France. Geography The commune along with another 32 communes is par ...

# Saint-Martin-des-Pézerits # Saint Paterne - Le Chevain # Sainte-Scolasse-sur-Sarthe # Semallé # Valframbert #

Villeneuve-en-Perseigne Villeneuve-en-Perseigne () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region in north-western France. It was formed on 1 January 2015 by the merger of the former communes La Fresnaye-sur-Chédouet, Chassé, Lignières-la-Care ...

# Les Ventes-de-Bourse Some parts of this Natura 2000 site are within the

Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park ( Fr.: ''Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine'') is a protected area of forest and bocage located in the French regions of Normandy and Pays de la Loire. Geography Spanning the departments of Orne, Manch ...

Conservation

The conservation area has nineteen species listed in Annex 2 of the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...

; #

Northern crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...

Cottus perifretum ''Cottus perifretum'', the bullhead or miller's thumb, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found on both sides of the English Channel, native to Great Britain. It also inhabits A ...

Brook lamprey The brook lamprey (''Lampetra planeri''), also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, ...

European bitterling The European bitterling (''Rhodeus amarus'') is a temperate freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acheilognathidae, the bitterlings. It originates in Europe, ranging from the Rhone River basin in France to the Neva River in Russia. ...

# Great capricorn beetle #

Marsh fritillary The marsh fritillary (''Euphydryas aurinia'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval st ...

# Jersey tiger #

European stag beetle ''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near T ...

# Hermit beetle # Narrow-mouthed whorl snail #

Desmoulin's whorl snail Desmoulin's whorl snail (''Vertigo moulinsiana'') is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk, mollusc or micromollusk, micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails ...

Western barbastelle The western barbastelle (''Barbastella barbastellus''), also known as the barbastelle or barbastelle bat, is a European bat in the genus '' Barbastella''. This species is found from Portugal to Azerbaijan and from Sweden to Canary Islands, where ...

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

Bechstein's bat Bechstein's bat (''Myotis bechsteinii'') is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland. Description Bechstein's bat is a medium-sized and relatively long-eared bat. The adult has a long, fluf ...

# Geoffroy's bat #

Greater mouse-eared bat The greater mouse-eared bat (''Myotis myotis'') is a European species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Description ''Myotis myotis'' is a large bat with a long, broad muzzle and big, long ears. The body's dorsal side is brown to reddish-br ...

Greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous bat of the genus ''Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats i ...

Lesser horseshoe bat The lesser horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus hipposideros'') is a type of small European and North African insectivorous bat, related to its larger cousin, the greater horseshoe bat. As with all horseshoe bats, the species gets its name from its dist ...

In addition the Natura 2000 site has 7 habitats protected under the

References

{{reflist Natura 2000 in France Geography of Orne