Climbers vs. Birds: Rock Climbing Routes Closed to Protect Nesting Eagles

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In Ardèche, a town hall removed several climbing routes from a cliff to promote the return of the Bonelli’s eagle, a decision that has been challenged by climbers who took the matter to court, but their appeal was dismissed.

A majestic limestone cliff towers over the Ardèche, with colorful ropes dangling from its summit. Below, on the ledge, climbers bask in the last rays of sunlight illuminating the Gens circus cliffside before packing up their gear. This location is among Ardèche’s most famed climbing sites—a wild and imposing area at the center of a controversy between naturalists and climbers.

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In May 2023, the town of Chauzon, which owns part of the cliff, decided to eliminate about sixty climbing routes out of the existing 313. The goal was to encourage the return of the Bonelli’s eagle, a threatened species that could potentially nest in the cliff’s crevices. This action sparked outrage among sports associations, particularly the French Mountain and Climbing Federation (FFME), who criticized the lack of prior discussion and legally challenged the mayor’s decree. However, the Lyon Administrative Tribunal dismissed their case on May 7, 2025.

To understand why some climbers are unwilling to share their climbing area with eagles, we need to look back in time. In the 1980s, a group of enthusiasts began equipping cliffs—in Chauzon and elsewhere—without permission or environmental assessments. Wearing climbing shoes and carrying drills on their harnesses, they installed anchors on the best routes along the Gens circus cliff. Over the years, nearly 313 routes were developed, stretching across about 700 meters.

At that time, no eagles soared in these skies. “The cliffs were colonized by climbers when the species was at its population nadir,” explains Alain Ravayrol, a climber and naturalist specializing in Bonelli’s eagle, to Decatur Metro. However, 40 years later, the situation has changed. Today, 46 pairs of this raptor—still classified as “threatened”—thrive across various French sites. In 2019, some settled in the Baume gorges, merely 3 km south of the Gens circus. They favor existing nesting sites and could potentially reclaim two old spots identified at Gens.

To encourage their return, they need space. “This species requires a territory of 60 to 120 km². Ideally, there should be one pair every 5 to 10 km. The critical question is: will they find cliffs suitable for nesting?” questions Alain Ravayrol in an opinion piece published on the Snapec website.

Bonelli’s eagle is a shy raptor that does not tolerate human presence well. Any disturbance during its nesting period could lead to nest abandonment. The only solution: remove the nearest climbing routes, meaning the removal of anchors used for attaching safety equipment.

Before making this drastic decision, the town hall held several consultations with climbers, particularly the local FFME committee. The latter had suggested closing the site during the nesting period. “We had worked with the local LPO to ban access to the area for 8 months. Since the birds are tagged with GPS, we could have monitored them and extended the closure if the eagle stayed longer,” states Sandrine Van Landeghem, director of natural site activities and climbing at the FFME. “The real issue isn’t that the FFME is against birds, but rather a lack of local dialogue,” she asserts.

This lack of consultation has been criticized by several stakeholders interviewed by Marie Catelain, who studies environmental conflicts related to climbing and surfing development. She spoke with about twenty people involved in the Chauzon case. “Climbers claimed that the removal of equipment was done without consultation and, crucially, that it would be permanent, even though the return of the eagle is not guaranteed,” explains Marie Catelain.

She also lists numerous meetings, visits, and other interactions organized among the various stakeholders. “However, climbers feel that the consultation was biased because the organizers might have been partial, and the final decision didn’t take their arguments into account,” notes Marie Catelain.

For Jean-Claude Delon, the mayor of Chauzon, the reaction from part of the climbing community is surprising. “We have been holding meetings to discuss this issue for about ten years,” he tells Decatur Metro. Unable to find a compromise, he felt compelled to issue the decree. “It’s a site without a guardian to check whether people come or not. Temporary bans are not enough. We even put up signs at the top of the cliff indicating a protected area, but they were destroyed,” he continues.

To pressure the mayor, a protest was organized in May 2023. Despite this, the town did not waver and issued its decree on May 16, 2023. This was one of the first practical applications of Article L.360-1 of the Environmental Code from the Climate and Resilience Law, giving the mayor special policing powers to regulate or prohibit access and movement in protected spaces.

This regulation was legally challenged on June 13, 2023, by the FFME and its territorial committee, the Sportive and Gymnastic Work Federation, and the Ardèche Gorges climbing club. “When we explained to the judge that a national action plan involving several million euros of public money had been launched to research the Bonelli’s eagle, he decided to dismiss their appeal,” explains Olivier Gourbinot, a lawyer at France Nature Environment and a climber himself. Between 2014 and 2020, nearly 1.5 million euros were invested in research on the Bonelli’s eagle. Naturalists thus have robust scientific data to support recommendations for encouraging its return.

This scientific expertise has convinced some not to support the FFME in its legal battle, including the Snapec. “We felt it was necessary not to contravene this higher interest of protecting the species, even if it meant restricting our practice area. Given the state’s investment in preserving the Bonelli’s eagle, closing a few routes seems reasonable,” says Loïc Le Denmat, an employee of the union.

Given the scientific data, why such stubborn legal resistance against the mayor of Chauzon’s decision? “I wouldn’t be far off thinking that if we closed 60 routes for average climbers, it wouldn’t mobilize as much. But to target the playground of those who pose for photos in specialized magazines that will rush to cover the mobilization, that’s considered a major affront,” denounces Alain Ravayrol in a piece published on the Snapec website. The two sectors that were de-equipped, named Enola Gay and Dévers, were rated at levels 6 and 7. However, a study by the FFME calculated that only 8% of climbers reach the seventh level.

This experienced elite, often the same individuals who equip climbing routes, may feel aggrieved by their removal. “We arrange a natural space by placing points. We create a route, give it a name. All this creates an emotional attachment to this space, a form of territorial appropriation,” explains Inti Cohen, a climbing instructor in Hérault and member of FNE.

Cliffs: Successful Sharing

Reintroducing animals to their habitats does not always lead to conflicts. In Hérault, part of the Claret cliff was de-equipped amicably between climbers and naturalists, as shown in the documentary. In the Gard, the removal of routes in the Concluses of Lussan allowed the return of a pair of Bonelli’s eagles that had vanished in 1989. However, the situation was different from Chauzon: Lussan was protected by a biotope protection decree, making the equipment illegal. “It was quite tense with the climbers, and without that prefectural decree, it would never have been de-equipped,” notes Guillaume Frechet, a naturalist and employee of the Gardon Gorges mixed union.

“For climbers, cliffs are a support for recreational activity. For the eagle, it is a place necessary for survival,” he adds. “Every living being must have its space, and humans should not occupy every square inch of the planet.”

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