Environmental groups are celebrating the Quebec government’s announcement of a huge new protected area intended to preserve caribou habitat in the province’s north.
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The province says it will create a 10,000-square kilometre protected area in the Montagnes Blanche area about 700 kilometres north of Montreal.
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The region is on the edge of Quebec’s commercial forest and is not expected to affect logging operations.
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The area was one of the measures outlined in the province’s 2013 caribou recovery plan.
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It is home to old-growth boreal forest and hundreds of caribou.
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Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is currently evaluating provincial measures to protect caribou habitat to determine if they live up to federal legislation.