Courteranges is a commune located in the Regional Natural Park of the Forêt d’Orient. Once crossed by the Barse River, huge changes have occurred since 1966, when the Seine Reservoir Lake was created, upstream from the town. The Barse became a water restitution channel from the lake.

The municipality of Courteranges has been engaged in the preservation of wetlands for more than 30 years, in partnership with the Regional Natural Park of the Forêt d’Orient and the Conservatory of natural areas of Champagne-Ardenne, an association dedicated to the purchase and management of natural sites. It is in this town that was created the first Regional Natural Reserve of Aube department Aube, in 2010.

The municipality is determined to respect its social and environmental commitments, also by supporting associations, such as the local horse riders club and the orchard conservation association, thereby developing intergenerational links and raising awareness among children from an early age.

The most characteristic wetlands in Courteranges are wet meadows. Some natural habitats are a priority at the European level and/or threatened in the former Champagne-Ardenne region. The Courteranges meadows are places to many heritage floristic species (meadow violet, mouse garlic …). We can also find in the town: farming lands, streams, ditches, marshes/pools and riparian woodlands.

Since 1987, the municipality of Courteranges has acquired wet meadows. New acquisitions took place regularly since 1993, with a total of 29 hectares of “wetlands areas” now owned by the municipality. In 2010, more than 27 hectares of wetlands were classified as Regional Natural Reserve, at the request of the municipality of Courteranges, with the support of the Regional Natural Park of the Forêt d’Orient and a regional association for acquisition of natural areas. The Grand Est region and the Seine-Normandy Water Agency are important financial partners.

In 2005, the municipality committed to restore and maintain the Courteranges marsh through grazing by rustic animals (Konik Polski Horses). So, since 2005, 5.5 hectares marshes of wetlands have been managed by grazing. In addition, several operations were carried out on the parcels owned by the town, in order to restore and maintain the hydrological and biological qualities of the wetlands: late annual mowing by a local farmer, exploitation of a poplar plantation and renaturation in meadow, and ditch rehabilitation.

In 2012, the municipality of Courteranges committed to the “charter of maintenance of public spaces” with the FREDON (Regional Federation of Defense against Harmful Organisms) Champagne-Ardenne. It chose the highest level of commitment, in order to stop pesticide use. In 2019, it received the distinction “Commune nature” (nature city) by the Grand Est Region. In 2016, when it approved its Local Urban Plan (PLU), the municipality classified almost all the “wet-dominated zones” as natural areas to be protected (Np zones). It has also classified 9 pools and 1 wet meadow as “landscape and heritage features”.

The City of Courteranges has created a local “Wetlands City” committee to monitor the label. It is mainly composed of members of the Advisory Committee of the Regional Natural Reserve. It met for the first time in late 2018. It will follow the actions of the municipality on wetlands and may propose new projects. In addition, a video on the Regional Natural Reserve helps to sensitize elected officials on the issues related to wetlands.

A public resting area was installed at the Regional Natural Reserve in 2012-2013. It contains a picnic table, explanatory panels, a mini-arboretum, an insect hotel, a swallow tower, among others. The town is regularly associated with the Regional Natural Park of the Foret d’Orient, for children and resident entertainments, especially as part of the World Wetlands Day. The creation of an educational trail is being carried out, in order to discover the wetlands of the city.

The Courteranges wetlands are useful for forage production (mowing), equine grazing and hunting. The commune helps these rational uses by the acquisition of plots of wet meadows, which makes it possible to sustainably develop these extensive practices. In addition, Courteranges relies every year on an integration project that hire people with job difficulties, allowing work such as ditches maintenance.