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In recent years, ecological transition has replaced sustainable development as both a political response and a scientific issue for those interested in or acting on a territorial scale. This article examines the capacity of local authorities to govern change, in the face of challenges renewed by the deepening of the ecological crisis and the generalization of uncertainties about the future. It is based on an empirical case, that of the Drôme valley, and a particular subject, agriculture and the food system, of which the region can be considered a pioneer in France in terms of ecologization. The article analyzes the territorial strategies deployed over the last five decades, framed by the notions of local development, territorial development, and ecological transition, focusing on intercommunalities (group of municipalities) and their relations with other actors and levels of territorial action. It addresses current governance issues, from the angle of the emergence or reconfiguration of the roles and capacities of territorial actors.