“It’s terrible”: Laurentian citizens condemn deforestation near lake

Citizens of the Laurentians are launching a heartfelt outcry to regulate the housing complex, which, in their opinion, threatens the region’s wetlands.

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“It was all wood. There were conifers and deciduous trees. There’s a swamp all around. Everything has been destroyed,” Janet Aucoin counters.

The head of the Association for the Protection of the Blue Lake has long been concerned about the destruction of the forests around Lake Saint-Hippolyte, a municipality of about 11,000 people near Prévost.

Two weeks ago, the forest was cleared for the development of thirty houses, the construction of which has not yet been approved by the municipality.

“It’s not based on wetlands,” he deplores.

“Terrible”

On the other side of the lake, Julie Brazeau found a desolate scene when she went to show her snowshoe trail to a friend.

“There were no trees, nothing. I cried because it was so cruel,” says the woman, who moved her childhood by the lake to raise her two children there.

Julie Brazeau is upset to see ski trails destroyed for residential development.

Photo by Anuk Lebel

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This is the third phase of a 275-home real estate development project, explains developer Patrick Bissonnette. “Everything is consistent,” he said.

The Municipal Corporation confirms that it has authorized deforestation for the construction of a road to build 30 houses, but permits have not yet been issued.

“They won’t be built on wetlands,” assures Vice Mayor Chantal LaChain.

“We will reach the end”

“We don’t have any planning for our territory, we don’t have an overall vision, we’re going one project at a time,” denounces independent municipal councilor Sonia Tremblay.

“It’s a problem everywhere in Quebec. All that’s left to build on are beautiful forests or wetlands. We’ll eventually come to this conclusion,” comments Kim Marino, biologist and president of Biodiversity Conseil.

A professor at the University of Sherbrooke is concerned about the effects on aquifers and stormwater management.

“We will have to pay with more flooding, more pollution of waterways. “It’s a problem, we put off later, but the damage will be significant,” the expert warns.