At a time when the Alpine ibex was effectively protected in the neighbouring Gran Paradiso mountain range via a national park created in 1922, there was concern about the animal's gradual disappearance - along with that of the chamois - in the Vanoise mountains.
At the instigation of voluntary associations such as the Club alpin français and the Touring club de France, along with hunting associations, it was decided to create a national reserve, adjacent to the Italian Gran Paradiso National Park, between the communes of Tignes and Val d'Isère for the Tarentaise area, and Bessans and Bonneval-sur-Arc for the Maurienne area.