Natura 2000 Zones rupestres xérothermiques du bassin de Marignac, Saint-Béat, pic du Gar, montagne de Rié (FFF-1143)

On Wednesday 3rd April 2024 at 08:58 UTC, Fred DL8DXL, a radio amateur from Germany made contact with Alain F5ODQ/P, a radio amateur from France who was operating from Natura 2000 Zones rupestres xérothermiques du bassin de Marignac, Saint-Béat, pic du Gar, montagne de Rié (FFF-1143), on the 20m amateur radio band.

Natura 2000 Zones rupestres xérothermiques du bassin de Marignac, Saint-Béat, pic du Gar, montagne de Rié (FFF-1143)[Natura 2000 xerothermal cave areas of the Marignac basin, Saint-Béat, Gar peak, Rié mountain] is a protected area which covers 7,700 hectares in the Midi-Pyrénées Region of France to the south of the city of Toulouse in the south-west of France. It is a Type B area Des Zones Spéciales de Conservation (ZSC)[Special Areas of Conservation (ZSC)].

Natura 2000 aims to protect many of Europe's most vulnerable and threatened habitats and species. ZSC areas aim to conserve the types of habitats, animals and plant species listed in Annexes I and II of the EU “Habitats” Directive.

Alain was at the summit of Pic de Cagire (1,912 metres asl) while he was at the reserve and made a total of 23 contacts for the Summits on the Air (“SOTA”) group.