In 1976, at the beginning of the transition to democracy, minister Manuel Fraga Iribarne visited Las Hurdes and drew a plan to do away with the bad name of the region and boost its economy called "Plan Hurdes". Fraga's plan was welcomed by Las Hurdes' inhabitants for the positive publicity and the fanfare it provided, but it met with scant success. Spearheaded by ICONA, much reafforestation was done by planting pines, a non-indigenous species, on formerly bare mountain slopes. This measure was counterproductive for the traditional goatherders and beekeepers, for the new forests killed the smaller flowering bushes and aromatic plants favoured by goats and bees. The pine woods also made the region highly vulnerable to fires. Other complaints by locals living in "alquerías" in Valle del Malvellido are that the new forests obliterated ancient paths and clogged wells. New houses were built and the traditional houses of stone and shale, often small and overcrowded, were replaced with modern dwellings. In places like Las Mestas no ancestral houses have been left.