Background The Rhetian Alps, in northern Lombardy, contains five Natura 2000 sites, covering more than 12,000ha and home to a rich diversity of wetlands and alpine meadows of the region. At the bottom of the valley, there is a Ramsar site (Pian di Spagna) consisting of alluvial forests, reed beds and open water. It is ecologically connected to the other four, passing through several vegetation types up to the alpine level (highest point at 3.37m), with typical alpine flora and fauna. Some of the habitats of Community importance identified in the sites are particularly sensitive to human activities. These include species-rich Nardus grasslands, alpine pioneer formations of Caricion bicoloris-atrofuscae, residual alluvial forests and Tilio-Acerion (mix of ash, elm and lime) ravine forests. Among the major threats to the sites are the spread of alien species, reed-bed and forest fires, degradation of forest natural structure, silting up of wetland habitats and overgrowth of grasslands. The area is also subject to increasing tourist pressure, which needs to be managed to avoid further damage. Objectives The beneficiary, the Lombardy Regional Forestry and Agriculture Service, aimed to introduce effective management of the five Natura 2000 sites as a network. As a first step, a GIS database would be created in order to define the location and state of conservation of the habitats, identify priority areas of intervention and provide data for the site management plans. These would then be adopted and implemented by local authorities on behalf of the regional administration. Habitat management actions were to be based on the most urgent conservation needs, including the restoration of canals, opening up fire breaks in reed beds, elimination of alien species in alluvial forest through selective felling and re-creation of plots of this habitat in selected sites. The actions foreseen in mountain areas included elimination of sweet chestnut trees from Tilio-Acerion forests, restoration of silted up springs and bogs, mowing of Nardus grasslands and beech forest management to protect the beetle ( Rosalia alpine ). The impact of tourism on sensitive areas would be reduced through the creation of paths and observation hides to drive and regulate movement and access of visitors. The awareness-raising campaign would include the construction of a website, information panels and handouts, environmental education in local schools, guided visits and seminars. Finally, a scientific monitoring programme will assess the success of the habitat management actions. Results Forestry works were carried out in five different SCIs of the Rethian Alps in Lombardy and allowed for the conservation and improvement of the following habitats: • Species-rich Nardus grassland on siliceous substrates in mountain areas (about 20ha in Val Masino and Val di Mello). • Alpine pioneer formations of Caricion bicoloris-atrofusca. • Residual alluvial forests of Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (about 6ha in Pian di Spagna-Lago di Mezzola). • Tilio-Acerion ravine forests (about 5 ha in the Val Codera). Five Management Plans were drawn up and adopted by the managing bodies. In the "Pian di Spagna" 3,000m of channels were dug and then the banks were planted with alluvial vegetation, about 1,500m of new channels were constructed to reduce the area affected by wild fires, about 6ha of woodland were improved by cutting exotic plants and planting allochthonous species and six ponds were restored. In Val dei Ratti, the recovery of springs habitat was carried out in an area of 1ha. In Val Masino, an information centre and a laboratory were restored for tourism and training activities and conservation of beech woods was undertaken for preserving the habitat of Rosalia alpina. Moreover, wooden infrastructures were installed to limit the damage to high-altitude alluvial plains both in Val Masino (40 m) and in Val di Mello (total area of 3,500 m2).Three peat bogs were restored and an observation point was installed in Val di Mello. Interventions for the restoration of the xerophile-submediterranean environments were carried out in Val Codera (about 7ha). The 75km "LIFE path of the Retiche Alps" was restored and opened to the public. The project produced high quality information tools and carried out the planned dissemination activities.