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From the middle of the 19th to the last quarter of the 20th century, the upper valleys of the Cévennes region experienced far-reaching depopulation that together with a state decision to promote reforestation on the main summits and slopes, made for a conflict-ridden evolution. However, those peasants remaining in the area saw reforestation as economic and symbolic dispossession. The rich and varied primary sources documenting this long-lasting conflict provide historians with an opportunity to link material and symbolic challenges and to understand the process through which mountains became landscapes.