Pontboset, barracks in the woods

A long history of presence, care, and territory

To truly understand who the forest rangers of the Aosta Valley were – and still are – we must take a step back in time.

In 1228, the region’s first forest guard appears: a man tasked with watching over some of the upper valley’s forests. That was just the beginning.

Over the following centuries, laws, documents, and customs confirmed how precious and fragile forest environments were.

In 1586, the “Coutumier du Duché d’Aoste” devoted an entire section to the woods: how to use them, but also how to protect them.

With industrial growth, wood became an increasingly contested resource. The risk? That the mountain might be overexploited.

Thus new supervisory roles were created, with more specific tasks and broader powers: in the 19th century, under the House of Savoy, forest guards could seize illegally cut timber and even arrest offenders.

In 1923, a crucial law – Royal Decree 3267 – regulated countless forest and soil protection matters: erosion control, reforestation, hydrogeological constraints, pasture protection. It remains a reference point today.

After World War II, with regional autonomy, a new body was formed: the Corpo Forestale Valdostano, later renamed Corpo Forestale della Valle d’Aosta (2002).

In 1968, Regional Law no. 6 officially established it: 60 men, 16 stations across the territory – a widespread network to stay close to people and land.

A changing profession, a lasting bond

In the beginning, forest rangers built dry stone walls, planted trees, maintained trails, protected pastures and flora.
Then, in the 1970s, something changed. Forests were no longer seen solely as resources to be used, but as landscapes, habitats, and ecosystems to be protected.

The Forest Service evolved: it monitored, measured, collected climate data, fought wildfires, and supported civil protection.

With Regional Law 66 of 1977, it also absorbed the roles of game and fish wardens.

In 1978, two such figures arrived at the Pontboset station – a sign of changing times.

In the 1980s and 1990s, stations modernized: radios, vehicles, and terrain-specific tools were introduced.

Radios were vital: in a time before mobile phones, they were the mountain’s voice. Rangers would schedule check-ins and communicate over regional or local channels.

The organization is divided into three key areas:

Silviculture
Wildlife management
Environmental protection

Over time, the Forest Corps gained new responsibilities and tools. Its structure was updated by Regional Law no. 12 of 2002. Yet it has always remained a guardian of the land, present during major floods and in everyday acts of care.

The Pontboset barracks

Life in the highlands, between men and mountains

Built in the early 1930s as a strategic post for the Champorcher Valley, the Pontboset barracks served for eighty years.
It covered the territories of Bard, Hône, Pontboset, and Champorcher – steep, wild, hard-to-reach places. But for this very reason, they needed presence.

Here, people lived and worked in real mountain conditions – harsh but generous.

At first, everything was done on foot: forests were scanned with binoculars, reports typed with carbon paper, communications sent by mail. Rangers went on multi-day missions, sleeping in bivouacs.

One still exists today on the shores of Lake Cornouy – a remote and beautiful place, surrounded by wildlife and alpine lakes. Another, at Chavanna, is no longer used, but its diary remains, full of handwritten notes and stories.

Those who worked here shared an adventure. They were comrades, facing every season together, in sun or snow. The uniform wasn’t just a symbol – it was a way of being.

Deep roots

Rangers weren’t just officials. They were community pillars. They joined village festivals, processions to Lake Miserin, ensured safety during skiing and mountain races.

They knew every trail, every place name. It’s still said they “knew the name of every stone.”

In 2010, the barracks closed, and staff were moved to Pont-Saint-Martin. It was a difficult decision, met with melancholy by locals and rangers alike.

The outpost remained – but the closeness changed.

Names and memory

Here are the names of those who served at this station, starting from 1948:

Carlo Landoni, Alberto Creux, Battista Floris, Cesare Dayné, Lorenzo Podestà, Firmino Diemoz, Massimo Jacquin, Honoré Juglair, Remigio Chentre, Gustavo Perron, Gino Dogier (former game warden), Livio Baudin (former fish warden), Sandro Cerise, Valter Desandré, Paolo Quinson, Giuseppe Cugnod, Renzo Borettaz, Danilo Fazzari, Luigi Pradella, Valter Borettaz, Milena Fiou, Ettore Merlet, Luca Dalbard, Raul Cavorsin.

Each with his own path. Each with his own story.

Together, they wrote an important chapter in the life of this land.