“Clear cuts” in protected area plan

The Legalt government is announcing a pilot project for a new type of protected area over a large part of Antigosty Island, but the forest department is still adhering to “clear cuts”.

“We need to see these pilot projects turn into Trojan horses in order to be adapted for industrial operations in protected areas. There is currently an attempt to go in this direction, which is unacceptable,” said a director general of the Canadian Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec (SNAP-Quebec). Demolished in the interview Newspaper.

During a trip to the island of Antigoste in the summer of 2020, Alain Branchad discovered login sites that he was immortal. “The pictures speak, it screams, these are industrial cuts. Destroy the cuts. I saw the machines. It’s not a pretty situation,” he said.

However, in order to support the bid for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Legold government has the ambition to fully protect the island of Antigoste. For now, it is protected under one-third of the island.

Environment Minister Benoit Charade announced yesterday that more than 5,000 km2 of the island would be added to these regions and protected under the pilot project.

According to his ministry, “more than half of the area designated for the pilot project will be the center of strict security.”

“Elsewhere, only activities aimed at conserving and restoring biodiversity and activities consistent with the purpose of conservation can be recognized there for the benefit of the local community,” one writes.

New type

To achieve this, he created a new type of protected area: a protected area for standard use, allowing slightly less control and a smaller amount of forestry, Minister Charette explained.

Newspaper He asked his cabinet if the entry on Antigosti Island would be stopped with this protected area status. The answer is less than the question.

“The pilot project, among other things, will help define this question, which will be done in consultation with local people,” said Claude Bodwin, the minister’s communications director.

Minister Charetz explained at a press conference, “From now on, absolutely no industrial intervention with business intensity is prohibited”, but does not define what an industrial record is.

Opposite

His colleague, Pierre Dufour, of the Ministry of Forests, who has publicly opposed the creation of protected areas in southern Quebec, said he did not participate in the operation “for health reasons.” Charett said.

The truth is that, unlike Minister Charlotte, Duffer did not want the cabinet to say whether these areas would be reclaimed from Quebec’s permitted cuts, a reservoir of trees available to businessmen.

“The MFFP welcomes this intention. However, the analysis and planning to attack with the various actors involved has not yet been determined,” said Michael Vincent, communications director for Minister Pierre Dufour.

Biologist Franஞ்சாois said the government should stop playing with words. “You can’t practice this kind of industrial forestry with clear cuts in a protected area,” he laments.