The forest of Merlet, as in the whole valley of Chamonix, consists mainly of spruces. Spruces suffer a lot from drought in the summer, because of their roots on the surface. They are therefore easy prey for bark beetles, insect pests that dig pretty galleries between the bark and wood, resulting in the death of softwood.

Moreover, the spruce stand is quite old (more than 70 years old), and therefore pays a heavy tribe with stormy winds.

Thus, on Merlet, we regularly cut spruce, to cut them into boards or firewood, then we replant species better adapted to the new climatic conditions: larches, beech, mountain ash, chestnut, birch, cherry, fruit and fruit trees.

So that the animals cannot eat them, we must protect them with a wire mesh, which will be removed when the tree will be large enough.