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A rich marsh freed from an illegal dump
From the top of the cliff, the view of the lush Hickey salt marsh, with the river on the horizon, has always been magnificent… as long as you overlooked the illegal dump and its garbage right under the cliff.
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Photo: Hickey salt marsh. Rive nord de l’estuaire ZIP Committee. |
Since fall 2007, plastic bags, cans, tires, gas cans and other garbage have disappeared, leaving space for vegetation which is little by little re-staking its claim. A network of volunteers handled this magical feat under the coordination of a ZIP committee for the north shore of the estuary.
The Hickey salt marsh is part of an aquatic bird concentration area close to the municipality of Colombier, which is 70 km west of Baie-Comeau. Cleaning up this illegal dump was only the first stage of a project aimed at improving this site and opening it up to the public.
A first cleanup was done in 2003, but garbage returned rapidly to clutter the site and threaten the marsh a few tens of metres away. This time, we wanted to make sure that dumping would cease. So the second stage of the project in spring and summer 2008 comprised the creation of a parking lot at the beginning of the road that leads to the cliff on the plateau, with a barrier to prevent vehicular access, and, finally, a railing at the end of the pathway, right above the cliff, for the safety of observers and contemplators. An interpretative panel describing the sensitive nature and ecological value of this area remains to be installed, and the inauguration of the site is slated for spring 2009.
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Photo: Road leading to the cliff. Rive nord de l’estuaire ZIP Committee. |
The project is directed by the ZIP committee and financed by the community interaction program and the Shell Environmental Fund. Approximately 10 organizations and “several hypermotivated volunteers,” in the words of project manager Marie-Hélène Cloutier, made an important in-kind contribution.
For more information, contact:
Marie-Hélène Cloutier
Rive nord de l’estuaire ZIP Committee
57, place Lasalle
Baie-Comeau, QC G4Z 1J8
Tel: 418-296-0404
E-mail: marie.helene.cloutier@zipnord.qc.ca
Date modified: 2008/12/08 – Important Notices
