Mission Nature: The Yves Bay and Marsh Reserve wins in the scratch card and draw

The third edition of the Mission Nature scratch card will fund 21 projects related to the sea and coastlines. Among them is an ambitious program to restore the Yves Bay and Marsh Nature Reserve, between Châtelaillon and Fouras.

It is both the most widely viewed and the most discreet of the national nature reserves. A hump on the La Rochelle/Rochefort dual carriageway allows for a fleeting glimpse of the panorama, representing a good number of daily admirers. But to reach the gates of the Yves Bay and Marsh reserve, you have to want to. Signage is elusive, and a reception building is just as elusive. This is one of the many paradoxes that bind this haven of biodiversity. It is shared between the communes of Yves and Fouras and extends over 1,206 hectares between the foreshore, the dune ridge, and the marsh. It is also crossed by a dike and the dull roar of the said dual carriageway, which sways with the prevailing wind. We have already seen the wild, more preserved, of the human universe.

Signage? As he does every time he discusses the problems of the estate he curates, Thomas Hérault gives a half-smile tinged with irony. "It's complex," he says, his feet in the oyster shells lining the beach. The reserve's situation certainly is complex, according to the team from the LPO - the Bird Protection League, which manages the site, which belongs to the Conservatoire du Littoral - composed of the aforementioned, technical ranger Marko Jankovic, and facilitator Karine Vennel. They have concocted a project costing nearly €590,000 to counter the attacks that are altering the richness of the flora and fauna. The bulk of the funding is to come from funds earmarked by the OFB, the French Office for Biodiversity.

It seems the fairies are in a good mood this spring of 2025. The project has every chance of coming to fruition since it was selected among the 21 winners of Mission Nature, the scratch card game now in its third edition under the aegis of FDJ United, the brand new name of La Française des Jeux. They will all benefit from the windfall of this "biodiversity lottery," the draw for which will take place on Saturday, May 24, during the Fête de la Nature. Tickets have been available since April 28.

Walking along the sand piled up at the bottom of the bay, you quickly realize there's a lot of work to be done. In terms of pedestrian paths, everything remains to be done. Last fall, the publication of the decree extending the reserve into the maritime domain sparked a wave of discontent and/or revolt among some users of this stretch of coastline, who disagreed directly with the list of prohibited areas. "We would like to conduct a study to reorganize public use, particularly on the beach, which is a changing space and has become the territory of birds," says Thomas Hérault. The construction of an observatory is in the pipeline for the northern part of the reserve.

Far from anger and controversy, Yves Bay is also subject to rapid environmental changes. The rising mudflats are visible to the naked eye of the uninitiated. Clumps of cordgrass swarm here and there, a sign that part of the area is not permanently flooded.

Combined with winter storms and high tidal coefficients, the rising sea level is dealing a severe blow to the dune barrier, which is increasingly resembling a boxer on the verge of a knockout. "The dune is low, barely three or four meters. It has sunk in two places. The first was caused by storm Xynthia (in February 2010, editor's note). The second, to the north, is more recent. It was storms Ciaran and Karlotta (in October 2023 and February 2024, editor's note) that caused the damage. At either breach, tidal coefficients above 100 are now enough for the sea to breach the dune and invade the lagoons behind," explains Thomas Hérault.

As a result, the freshwater lagoons have transformed into saline environments. This has killed off the fauna and flora species dependent on the salt-free diet, but has attracted others, such as the large stigmata dragonfly. At the site of the breaches, remnants of old swell barriers appear, placed there after Xynthia. A dying geotextile, filled with rubble, railway ballast, and sooty materials of dubious appearance, whose dispersal into the bay is more than likely to occur in the long term. Their removal by mechanical means is scheduled as part of the project.

"We'll let the sea do its thing. We now need to support the dune's evolution by replacing swales to capture the sand and recreating habitats favorable to an emblematic species of the reserve, the razor-toothed toad, an amphibian very rare on the Atlantic coast ," adds the curator. The team also hopes to acquire a herd of hardy horses that will be able to graze the marsh and keep the environment open. An important clarification: the LPO is targeting a breed accustomed to summer heat, which will strengthen with the changing climate. For now, the reserve has a few Highland cattle. A variety that loves nothing more than harsh, cold climates. Bad luck.