On Tuesday Quebec environmentalists and politicians came together to announce a huge swath of forest west of Montreal is now protected from development, forever.
“It’s a celebration, in fact,” said Pascal Bigras, the president of Nature-Action Québec.
At a Zoom press conference, the non-profit conservation agency joined with federal and provincial officials to announce the acquisition of 46 hectares of forest at Mont-Rigaud. The land about 70 kilometres west of Montreal will now be protected from bulldozers for good.
“It’s protected in perpetuity, so that’s a great success for us,” said Alexandrine Larson-Dupuis, a project manager with Nature-Action Québec.
The new protected area will be added to 145 hectares already being preserved.
“The equivalent of over 140 soccer fields is now protected for future generations to benefit from,” said Peter Schiefke, the federal MP for Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
The acquisition of the new land from its private owners was made possible by funding from the federal government.
“The government of Canada will be contributing $492,000 for the protection of 46 additional hectares of highly ecologically sensitive land,” Schiefke said, adding that the federal government helped acquire 63 hectares in the same area in 2019.
Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette also celebrated the announcement.
“The acquisition of the property announced today permits not only an increase in the quantity of protected areas at Mont-Rigaud, but in the south of Quebec,” Charette said.
The announcement means vulnerable species like the eastern wood pewee, the wood thrush, the ringneck snake and the smooth green snake will have vital habitats kept intact.
“It enforces and it strengthens the conservation aspect of anything that happens on Rigaud mountain,” said Hans Gruenwald, mayor of the city of Rigaud.
There are no immediate plans to add any new trails or turn the newly acquired areas into a park. Gruenwald said the acquisition was a first step.
“We have to do forest management. There’s so many things to do. I don’t think that my lifetime is going to be enough to accomplish all these things,” he said.
For now, nature lovers can rest assured the vast green space will be protected for good.