This site is a place highly appreciated by the Baie-Saint-Paulois for its beauty. A wooded area, the wharf and the beach attract many visitors.
“We are very happy that people can have access to it, but we still have to ensure that the environment is protected,” says the mayor, Michael Pilote.
Strangely, this area along the St. Lawrence River was previously private property. Now the confusion ends. The City got its hands on part of the territory earlier this year. Another 200 hectare area of flats and beach was finally donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
“It will continue to be accessible. People won’t see the difference. The issue lay more in the fact that it was private and among the successive possible sales, someone could have bought it and said I’m putting up a fence and then it’s over,” explains Claire Ducharme, vice-president for Quebec at Nature Conservancy of Canada.
“With the different circles of philanthropy, we will be able to have access to different budgetary envelopes, which will allow us to take action and protect the environment once and for all,” adds Mr. Pilote.
This last acquired sector has great value in terms of biodiversity. The City and the association will work together to preserve it in the long term.
“Every fall and spring, snow geese and barnacles stop here along the way in their migration to rest and feed,” says the resident of Baie-Saint-Paul who cares about environmental issues.
The organization will soon establish a management framework to analyze potential risks and necessary protective measures. Finding solutions to counter bank erosion will be one of the organization’s priorities.
“The path is starting to be damaged, the trees are falling, will there be a need for intervention in terms of stabilizing the banks? From now on, we are on day 1,” continues Claire Ducharme.
Due to various costs, the transfer of the land required a total investment of $100,000 for the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
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