Article Index

 

Field Committee

The Field Committee is the  operational organization of the Association des Amis de la Forêt (AFF). It has the responsibility of every positive action on the field. This is done in cooperation with the agents of the National Forest Office (ONF). It has 50 members, all benevolent, comprising 40 footpath mainteners.

Comm terrain

The Field Committee takes in charge the maintenance of all marked footpaths in the Fontainebleau forest (except the walking trails GR and PR maintained by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre, PR of the Parc Naturel Régional du Gâtinais and horse trails maintained by the ONF). The AFF marked footpaths net  (more than 300 km) includes the Denecourt Blue Footpaths, the diverse circuits discovery and walking footpaths created by the ONF (14 paths in 2011), the famous 25 humps circuit in the Massif des Trois Pignons and the Bicycle Tour around the Fontainebleau Massif (TMV). All those paths are described  in the Footpaths Guide (Guide des Sentiers de Promenade).

The Field Committee has also in charge the permanent inventory of the Remarkable Trees of the  Fontainebleau Forest ; the études historical studies on the milestones belonging to the three domanial forests around Fontainebleau ; and the search, inventory and conservation of the houses, working sites and every remains of the sandstone cutters during the last centuries. These missions are given to three sub-committees: Remarkable Trees, Milestones, and Sandstone Careers and Cutters. Their activities are described in specific pages of the site. All this work is done in tight cooperation with the ONF.

Moreover, the Field Committee, having a thourough knowledge of the forest, is a recognized partner of the ONF in various committees managing all aspects of the forest : public welcome, erosion, communication, etc... It is also a very active partner of the Institut Géographique National (IGN) to elaborate and update the maps, especially the famous 1/25000, n° 2417 OT, of the Fontainebleau Forest.

Last, the Field Committee is responsible for two AFF publications : The Footpaths Guide (Guide des Sentiers de Promenade dans le Massif Forestier de Fontainebleau)  and the Guide of the Remarkable Trees, both regularly updated.

The Field Committee welcomes permanently all members willing to engage in field actions and delivers a formation about footpath marking and maintenance. You may contact its president William Mouilloix by e-mail :  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A slideshow explains everything about footpath marrking and maintenance. A guide is in preparation about the same topic