Leading figures of moutain land restoration: Paul Mougin
The history of France’s mountain land restoration services (RTM) has been profoundly influenced by a number of personalities with remarkable talents, among them Paul Mougin, a pioneer in glaciology.
Paul Mougin (30 june 1866, Remiremont – 19 may 1939, Champigneulles)
After graduating in 1888 from the Nancy School of Forestry (École des eaux et forêts), he came to the attention of Prosper Demontzey, who appointed him to the Savoie reforestation commission in 1891. Until 1911, he dedicated his career to torrent correction projects in Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Two major projects stand out as emblematic of both his career and his technical ambitions:
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Between 1896 and 1897, he oversaw the construction of a tunnel on the Saint-Julien-de-Maurienne torrent, designed to divert floodwaters that regularly threatened the village in the valley — the first project of its kind.
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Saint-Julien torrent.Ouverture amont du tunnel après le percement /
Upstream portal of the tunnel after excavation.
Paul Mougin, 1896
- Following the Saint-Gervais disaster in July 1892 — a debris flow triggered by a glacier (outburst) flood — he oversaw the construction of a 599-metre tunnel on the Tête Rousse Glacier at an altitude of 3,000 metres. The diversion tunnel prevented the formation of water pockets beneath the glacier and redirected the meltwater towards the Bionnassay Glacier.
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Glacier de Tête-Rousse, M. P. Bullio, entrepreneur des travaux de Tête-Rousse, et ses ouvriers /
Mr P. Bullio, contractor for the Tête-Rousse works, with his workers.
Paul Mougin, 1904
Glaciology and meteorology
Paul Mougin played a key role in developing glaciology within the RTM and published scientific studies on the glaciers of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. He investigated their dynamics, flow velocities, surges and retreats, as well as snowfall amounts and their water equivalent.
He also invented the Mougin accumulative raingauge. Around twenty of these instruments were initially installed at high altitude across the two departments in the early twentieth century. These snow-rain gauges were read once a year and provided measurements of the meltwater equivalent of precipitation accumulated since the previous reading. They complemented snow-monitoring stations located in more accessible areas below 2,000 metres.
Finally having a means of reliably monitoring snowfall made it possible to anticipate river discharge during summer periods, when rainfall was irregular, and was particularly valuable for companies relying on hydropower.
After the First World War, Paul Mougin was appointed Inspector General and went on to chair the Board of the School of Forestry (École des eaux et forêts) before retiring in 1934.
He also produced major syntheses on the torrents of Savoie (including a book and 3 photographic albums), the forests of Savoie, and the restoration of the Alps.
Bibliography
Association des officiers des eaux et forêts (France). (1939). Nécrologie de Paul Mougin (Obituary of Paul Mougin, in French). Revue des eaux et forêts : économie forestière, reboisement… (Journal of Forestry: Forest Economics, Reforestation…, in French), pp. 460–468. S. Frézard (ed.), 1 January 1939.
Messines du Sourbier, J. (1939). Nécrologie. Paul Mougin—Inspecteur général des Eaux et Forêts (1866–1939) (Obituary: Paul Mougin—Inspector General of Foresty (1866–1939), in French). Revue de Géographie Alpine, 27(4), 899–904.
Text written by Pascale Hénaut (INRAE - DipSO)
How to cite: Highlight Agate: Leading figures of moutain land restoration; Paul Mougin, Pascale Hénaut (INRAE DipSO), march 2026. https://agate.inrae.fr/agate/en/content/highlights
Illustrations
The banner was made from a photograph of Demontzey, when visiting the Ubaye valley with the reforestation service.
The thumbnail was made from a photograph of Demontzey, when visiting the Ubaye valley with the reforestation service.
