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Les Deux Rives ZIP Committee
La Trame verte de Bécancour
This project, undertaken in 2006 by the Les Deux Rives ZIP Committee, involves the creation of a network of forest corridors that will link all of the region’s natural areas – including the Léon-Provancher Ecological Reserve – to facilitate the movement of wildlife and plant species and help preserve the rich biodiversity of this corner of Quebec.
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The project covers an area of approximately 45 km2 on the St. Lawrence South Shore just opposite the city of Trois-Rivières. In addition to the ecological reserve, which covers approximately 500 ha, it includes a small lake (Saint-Paul) bounded by the reserve, three rivers, including the Bécancour River, three streams, a huge peat bog, eight other wetlands and three forested areas covering more than 30 km2. The ecological reserve alone protects an outstanding diversity of natural communities typical of the wetlands of the Lake Saint-Pierre region, including approximately 20 sensitive species.
Indeed, according to the director of the ZIP Committee, Stéphane Doucet, approximately 90% of the targeted space is still in a natural state and requires no particular development work. The problem is the fragmentation of the various areas and the lack of plant relationships that would allow for ongoing biological exchanges to occur between the various ecosystems. A highway, forest areas that are isolated in the middle of farm fields, and bare embankments create barriers for many species, both animal and plant, and are likely in the long run to cause a decrease in biodiversity. The ecological reserve in particular is at risk of suffering from depletion if it cannot be mixed on an ongoing basis with all of the ecological diversity around it.
Creating and protecting links
The ZIP Committee’s goal is to use the green grid to re-establish links that have disappeared and to protect those that are still functional.
In the first phase of the project, the organization identified spaces to be rehabilitated and others that would require special protection. Thus, development work is needed along the seven watercourses as well as along a portion of the lake shoreline (forested areas and buffers), and protection is required for 11 wooded areas and wetlands. Wildlife observation equipment should also be installed at the junction of the Bécancour River and the St. Lawrence, where large numbers of waterfowl gather, and a tunnel (an ecoduct) under Highway 30 is needed to allow wildlife to travel between wooded areas and the ecological reserve. Ideally, some farming practices could also be altered.
Following this initial phase to determine what action was required, the second phase of the project was begun in the fall of 2007 with initial development work: the planting of approximately 1,000 trees and shrubs of 27 species, 19 of which bear edible fruit for birds, along 2 km of banks along one of the streams that flows into the lake. The two owners of the farms have made a commitment to comply with environmental agricultural standards on their land and to protect the new shoreline strip. The work was carried out in part by volunteers – “to get the population involved,” according to Stéphane Doucet – as well as by people reintegrating into society. The Central Quebec UPA Farmers Federation and Corporation Saint-Laurent/Earth Day financed the operation.
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Ruisseau Doucet, a stream that needs to be stabilized and reforested to create a wildlife corridor |
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Ruisseau Doucet, mouth of the watercourse with its natural vegetation |
In addition to providing wildlife with a corridor along which it can travel, the new strip of vegetation will stabilize the shoreline, preserve the water quality of the stream and Lake Saint-Paul, serve as a windbreak for crops, contribute to pollination and embellish the landscape.
The other projects are to be carried out mainly over the next two years, depending on the funding that the ZIP Committee receives. An educational component will be added, with the participation of students from a high school in the region. The Committee will also continue to work in partnership with the Bécancour RCM and the UPA, among others, to continue to make farmers aware of the importance of this green grid and to encourage them to sign protection agreements.
Stéphane Doucet summarizes the project as follows: “Our ultimate objective is to work with people, to have as many partners as possible, to create a ripple effect and succeed with the means available to us, in making this region a true landscape mosaic, a green grid that will protect the integrity of all the region’s ecosystems.”
For information:
Stéphane Doucet, Director General
Les Deux Rives ZIP Committee
6487 Des Chenaux Boulevard
Trois-Rivières (Qc)
G8Y 5A9
Telephone: 819-375-8699
E-mail: sdoucet@ziplesdeuxrives.org
Web site: http://www.ziplesdeuxrives.org/
Date modified: 2008/04/30 – Important Notices
