Quebec to invest $60M in protecting province's caribou
CBC
The Quebec government has announced a $59.5-million bid to safeguard Charlevoix's boreal caribou and the Gaspésie mountain caribou.
These two regions were chosen because they have not suffered the full impact of last summer's forest fires and the herds there are particularly vulnerable, said Benoit Charette, minister of the environment, the fight against climate change, wildlife and parks.
In particular, the government intends to better protect an area of 96 square kilometres in Mont-Vallières-de-Saint-Réal, near the Gaspésie provincial park, where there is mining.
"We are not talking about a protected area, but about administrative measures taking into account mining issues," said Charette during a Tuesday news conference.
In addition, the government says it will expand the Caribous-Forestiers-de-Manouane-Manicouagan biodiversity reserve.
The regional projects cover almost 15,000 square kilometres in total, Quebec says in a news release.
"The recommended approach aims to increase predictability for the local communities — in particular the Indigenous communities who have a special relationship with the caribou and its habitat — while ensuring regional economic growth that is in harmony with protecting the species," the release says.
The approach takes into account the at-risk state of the caribou, the challenges of natural resource development and the specific issues related to recreational tourism, it says.
But the projects will be subject to a 90-day online public consultation. CBC News asked Charette when the measures would actually be put in place.
"It takes time, so I don't have a specific date for you," he replied. "But we will take the time needed, in respect and in regard to the population consulted."
The boreal caribou of Charlevoix was designated a vulnerable species in 2005, and the mountain caribou of Gaspésie was designated a threatened species in 2009.
Quebec has repeatedly postponed the submission of a caribou protection strategy, notably last year due to major forest fires.
The federal government threatened to intervene to protect the caribou if Quebec did not present a protection strategy by May 1.
A study published late last year warns that clear-cutting has left forests in Ontario and Quebec severely depleted — and puts boreal caribou, also known as woodland caribou, at risk.
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