A Natura 2000 river valley in southwestern France, anchored by the European mink and a network of small tributaries.
Vallée de la Tude
Vallée de la Tude is a French Natura 2000 natural site located in the southeastern part of the Charente department, within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. It protects a small alluvial landscape along the Tude river and several of its headwater tributaries, where wet meadows, deciduous woodland, and arable farmland interweave to form an important ecological corridor between the Charente and Garonne basins. The site's ecological value lies primarily in its role as a refuge for species that depend on lowland river valleys, including the highly threatened European mink, the European otter, and a wide suite of amphibians, dragonflies, bats, and breeding birds.
Designated as a Special Area of Conservation under the European Union Habitats Directive and validated by ministerial order in August 2006, Vallée de la Tude links conservation interests at the European scale to a very local, agricultural river landscape. Despite its modest size, it stands out for the density of protected animal species recorded there and for the way small managed streams sustain wetland habitats in a heavily farmed countryside.
The site is spread across sixteen communes, with most of its area concentrated near Montmoreau, Chalais, Boisné-La Tude, and Montboyer. Its elevation runs from the low river terraces near 25 meters up to around 150 meters along the surrounding slopes, capturing both the wet valley floor and the drier edges that frame it.
