Région de la biosphère de Charlevoix

The St. Lawrence, 
the Laurentian Mountains 
and a whole world of landscapes, 
fauna, flora, culture 
and heritage to explore! 

This unique territory, shaped by the meteorite impact that occurred some 400 million years ago, presents three distinct types of ecosystems; from a temperate maritime climate along the coast to tundra vegetation on the highest peaks and boreal forest. Preserving this biodiversity is a major challenge in this era of a triple planetary crisis, between climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution...

Since it is so important to preserve the Charlevoix environment in all its beauty and diversity for generations to come, the Région de la biosphère de Charlevoix team is working to apply the best principles of sustainable development in the hope of slowing down and reversing this trend, thus ensuring the sustainability of local ecosystems.

Aiming to be a catalyst for concrete positive action, the organization collaborates with a multitude of partners. One such example is their involvement with the young campers of Centre écologique de Port-au-Saumon summer camp, teaching them to monitor the seashore and the coastal forest, thus making it possible to detect abnormal situations and track environmental indicators onsite. Also on the coast, the team worked on the implementation of a strategy to preserve the Baie-des-Rochers Municipal Park, as well as the La Pointe-du-Bout-d’en-Bas Park on Isle-aux-Coudres in collaboration with Comité ZIP, as well as counter the negative impacts of tourist traffic. This has resulted, among other things, in an upgrade of the infrastructure on these two sites and even the submission of a protection project for the peregrine falcon and the red knot, two of the region’s threatened species! Add to this coastal list Pointe-aux-Alouettes near Baie-Sainte-Catherine, the historic site of the signing of the Great Alliance between the Indigenous and French peoples.

On the forest side, it is in collaboration with the Organisme de Bassin Versant Charlevoix-Montmorency and other local stakeholders that the team scours the Charlevoix hinterland, identifying wetlands in Saint-Urbain, collecting data on bird populations, or working to reduce the impacts of the forestry industry in the critical habitat of the woodland caribou by establishing a strategy for the maintenance and upgrading of forest roads.

It is in collaboration with the organizations GUEPE Charlevoix and Sentiers Québec-Charlevoix (La Traversée de Charlevoix) that the Région de la biosphère de Charlevoix team climbs the summits of Lac à l’Impece, Dôme and Élie mountains (as well as several others), implementing intensive measures to reduce the impact of the large number of trail users. The ecosystems of taiga and alpine tundra are very fragile and cohabitation with humans leaves its mark. This is why the demarcation of trails and the appropriate signage is crucial, as well as awareness-raising by a green brigade campaigning onsite or through digital tools. 

Projects and collaborations continue to multiply for the Région de la biosphère de Charlevoix team, who are working on developing a tool for prioritizing conservation actions on a local scale. With the mission of raising awareness, mobilizing and supporting, Région de la biosphère de Charlevoix offers its services to the local community, institutions, businesses, industries, municipalities and large landowners in the adoption of eco-responsible practices, sustainable systemic analyses, obtaining conservation status and coordinating consultation processes.