By Christoph Promberger and Barbara Promberger | Co-Founders and Executive Directors
Please see attached Field Reports for the detailed quarterly updates.
Brief Summary of Main activities in October 2019
Forest Conservation and Management:
• 1,525 ha of additional forest secured for full protection.
• New forest management and conservation plans submitted to the environment authorities.
Ecological Restoration
• Start of Autumn planting campaign: 4,000 saplings were planted in October.
• We have continued working to cut the grass around the saplings to avoid suffocation of saplings under the snow, involving 66 local people as seasonal workers and one local contractor. Results so far: 220 ha eastern Fagaras Mountains, 30 ha in Leaota, 70 ha southern Fagaras Mountains.
• Dwarf pine cones and juniper fruits were prepared for spring restoration activities.
Wildlife Activities
• DNA sampling of Red Deer has finished. A total of 195 samples have been collected.
• We have installed the camera traps for lynx monitoring: 12 locations have already had positive results and we are working on the 2018-2019 report that will estimate the abundance and density of lynx in a basic exploratory model.
• Preparing for the arrival of the first bison for reintroduction: authorizations, temporary enclosures, hay acquisition, selection of individuals for the first lot of 10 bison.
• Collecting aquatic macroinvertebrates and water samples for eDNA and measuring the physical and chemical parameters of the water, for beaver reintroduction.
• Rangers patrolling to prevent poaching and illegal fishing.
• Management measures: The wildlife rapid intervention team continues its efforts to keep wild boar and bears away from the villages. The 4 electric fences installed in the local communities work well, but despite this and other measures implemented, problems are still reported. We have requested authorization from the Ministry of Environment to relocate another problem bear that causes livestock damage and is a threat to the local people.
• Consultancy was offered to the villagers that asked for FCC’s expertise on how to secure their property against wildlife damages.
• First eleven puppies of pure-bred Romanian Carpathian shepherd dogs were donated to local farmers that graze livestock on the pastures managed by FCC in the Fagaras Mountains. Breeding these dogs and donating them to local shepherds is part of our strategy to prevent the damage caused by large carnivores among livestock.
• The end of the hay making season resulted with 14,500 bales of alfalfa and hay.
• We have 103 Hungarian Grey cattle and the heard is growing with some beautiful, healthy calves.
• The dog breeding program is going well, we still have 3 puppies left that will be donated this year to the shepherds in our project area. Also, another 7 puppies were born in October.
• The 3 days/3 nights wilderness camp “The power from within” was a success.
Communication and Community Outreach – Partnership for Conservation
• We hosted the annual meeting of beneficiaries of the Endangered Landscapes Programme, a program funded by Arcadia and implemented by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative UK.
• We planted 40,000 seedlings with the help of the private Romanian medical clinic MedLife and another 15,000 will find their place on the slopes in the mountains, this fall and next spring. A new forest will grow in the Eastern Fagaras mountains, along with 55,000 children born in MedLife maternity hospitals!
Please find even more updates and achievements in the October Field Report attached!
Many millions of thanks! We are so grateful for your support!
Your friends at Foundation Conservation Carpathia.
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