Avigliana is also engaged this year in the campaign to protect the ecosystem of the Natural Park. The Night of the Toads will have two events, on February 27 and March 6. Closed from February 16 to March 15 is the section of via Grignetto affected by the migration of animals towards the Mareschi swamp.
In the course of 2025, the activity of the Life Predator project in the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park has entered the heart of the captures after the study phase conducted in previous years by project partners coordinated by IRSA CNR with the staff of the Protected Areas of the Cozie Alps and the appointed professionals. With the end of the calendar year and taking advantage of the winter break in the extraction operations, it is possible to draft an initial balance on the actual reduction of the biomass of Silurus glanis from the two Avigliana Lakes. The actions have been carried out within the European Life Predator project, of which the Park Authority is a partner, for the containment of the catfish, an invasive alien species, in the freshwater basins of southern Europe.
Thursday, January 8, 2026. Meteorologists state that the cold wave – likely one of the most severe in over 10 years – has reached its peak, recording overnight minimum temperatures of -9 °C in Avigliana and -8 °C in Trana, according to measurements by Arpa Piemonte. Yet, there is still little ice visible on the surface of the Avigliana Lakes. Chronicles speak of times when the Small Lake was crossed by carts or when it was traversed aboard a Fiat Topolino in 1966, while more recent history tells us that the last significant freezing events date back to the winters of 2006 and 2012.
On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, the Biodiversity and Natural Areas Sector of the Piedmont Region announced the approval for funding of two projects submitted by the management body of the protected areas of the Cozie Alps under the FESR 2021/2027 call. These are two important "Hydrogeological stabilization interventions for situations of instability in mountainous, hilly, and riparian areas, also aimed at the resilience of the territories," as stated in the text of the call, to which the Park Authority participated in collaboration with the municipalities of Avigliana and Bussoleno, achieving eligibility for the funding of 100% of the works.
The Protected Areas of the Cozie Alps have created a video to tell the story of the involvement of amateur fishermen in containing the catfish from the waters of the Natural Park of the Avigliana Lakes. This is an initiative organized in 2025 by the park authority staff as part of the European Life Predator project to combat the spread of Silurus glanis, an invasive alien aquatic predator that threatens to compromise the aquatic biodiversity of water bodies in southern Europe.
“I was coming home exhausted, but happy. The work was hard, due to the shifts and being outdoors in any weather condition, but there were many satisfactions.”
Since October 1, 2025, Valentina Mangini has retired, having served as a park ranger at the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park since 1991.
In the course of 2025, the park rangers of the Protected Areas of the Cozie Alps increased daytime and nighttime monitoring activities regarding fishing in the Natural Park of the Avigliana Lakes, issuing sanctions and carrying out seizures of prohibited equipment. However, beyond the repressive nature of the work carried out, the goal remains the prevention of illegal behaviors to protect those who respect laws and regulations and, above all, to defend a common heritage that belongs to everyone: the environment.
On Monday, October 29, 2025, professional fishing activities began for the containment of the catfish in the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park. The initiative is one of the actions of the Life Predator project, of which the Protected Areas of the Cozie Alps are partners, aimed at containing the Silurus glanis, the aquatic predator that represents an invasive alien species in the freshwater basins of Southern Europe.
The American pond turtles present in the Grande Lake of Avigliana are carriers of infectious diseases that can be transmitted to humans. This is what emerges from a scientific study conducted by the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Piedmont, Liguria, and Aosta Valley in the Natural Park of the Avigliana Lakes. It has been found that 13.3% of individuals were infected with salmonellosis and/or cryptosporidium.
In occasione della Giornata Mondiale dell'Ambiente vi proponiamo il video realizzato da Città Metropolitana di Torino nell'ambito del progetto Connettere l'Ambiente, dedicato a Miriophyllum spicatum nel Parco naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana.
On the occasion of the World Biodiversity Day, established by the United Nations in 2000, celebrated every year on May 22, we publish the results of a monitoring activity carried out by the Protected Areas of the Cozie Alps in the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park on the Emys orbicularis, the rare European marsh turtle, of which about thirty specimens survive and are at risk of extinction. A small example of biodiversity that is at risk of being lost forever.
The Life Predator project team has produced the second issue of the newsletter to illustrate the progress of the work.
On Monday, March 17, the 2025 edition of the SOS Amphibians campaign organized on the Lakes of Avigliana by the Municipality and the Protected Areas of the Cottian Alps came to a close. This edition was innovative compared to previous years.
It is reported that the Municipality of Avigliana has prohibited passage on the cycle-pedestrian walkway that crosses the Rio Meana between Lake Piccolo and Lake Grande in the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park.
«Predatori silenziosi» è il titolo che è stato dato al workshop internazionale organizzato dal Progetto Life Predator a Cameri (NO) il 5 dicembre 2025. Si tratta di un convegno gratuito e ad accesso libero, ospitato nella bella cornice di Villa Picchetta dalle Aree Protette del Ticino e del Lago Maggiore, in cui le conoscenze ed esperienze maturate nella gestione del pesce siluro nei bacini lacustri dell’Europa meridionale, tra cui il Parco Naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana, serviranno da spunto di riflessione e confronto su altre iniziative che si occupano di specie aliene invasive.
Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates, whose body temperature depends on the external environment. With the onset of cold weather, they hibernate: slowing down their metabolism and "falling asleep" waiting for spring.
Mosquito Control in the territory of the Natural Park of the Avigliana Lakes and the Municipalities of Avigliana, Villar Dora, Trana, and Sant'Antonino di Susa
The project for biological control of mosquitoes is implemented with the aim of containing the number of Culicid individuals (mosquitoes) in the territory. It is based on a specific law of the Piedmont Region, L.R. 75/95, which has established that 50% of the funding is borne by the Municipalities and the other 50% by the Region.
The river prawn (Austropotamobius pallipes complex) is one of the most discreet and valuable inhabitants of our waterways. Brown-olive in color, with the underside of the claws lighter, hence the Latin name pallipes ("light feet"), it has a distinctive appearance: a robust, segmented body, two large front claws, and an abdomen that ends with a wide caudal fan, which allows for rapid backward movements in case of escape. Adults typically reach a length of 8–12 centimeters and move carefully along the gravelly and rocky bottoms of streams.
Opuscolo informativo del Parco naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana con tutti i contatti, la cartina esplicativa del territorio con confini, percorsi, viabilità principale, punti di osservazione, aree attrezzate e strade chiuse.