The fundamental purpose of this agreement is to regulate the conservation of the Cantabrian capercaillie, in order to improve the management of its habitat and in this way, collaborate in the conservation of the species.

The fundamental purpose of this agreement is to regulate the conservation of the Cantabrian capercaillie, in order to improve the management of its habitat and in this way, collaborate in the conservation of the species.

The Cantabrian capercaillie is an endemic subspecies (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus), exclusive to the mature forests of the Cantabrian Mountains. Its population is very small, with a maximum of about 500 adult specimens in just over 200 occupied quarries, after suffering an alarming decline in the last ten years (720 known quarries throughout the mountain range).

Its very worrying state of conservation has led to its cataloguing as a critically endangered species (National Commission for the Protection of Nature, Ministry of the Environment, 2004) and the development of a National Strategy for the Conservation of the Cantabrian Capercaillie.

Although there is no precise information available on the real status of the population, its threats and its ecological requirements, it seems that the factors that have most influenced the reduction of the distribution area and the population numbers of the Cantabrian capercaillie are the fragmentation of the mountain forest, due to new roads and infrastructures on the slopes of the valleys, and the very low rate of juvenile production, partly due to the decline of grasslands and blueberry trees (a very important food resource for the species) at the upper limit of the trees, semi-open environments where family groups of females and chicks thrive.

In order to meet the objective proposed by this initiative, to regulate the implementation of conservation actions of the Cantabrian capercaillie in order to improve the management of its habitat and thus collaborate in the conservation of the species, the following actions are carried out:

• Actions to improve the habitat.
• Monitoring of capercaillie populations in the areas of action.
• Awareness campaign.
• Collaboration with the Public Administrations involved in their conservation.