 |
|
 |
NEWSLETTER |
Text This Newsletter is also available in PDF
format.
|
Restoring public access to The Lachine Canal National Historic Site of Canada, a rich part of our heritage One of the objectives of the Habitats Subcommittee is to help restore public access to the St. Lawrence. The Lachine Canal revitalization project is in line with this objective. In spring 2002, thirty years after the canal closed, the locks will once again open to recreational boaters. (Map of the Lachine Canal, PDF Format.)
In the 1990s, Parks Canada began to consider the possibility of making the Lachine Canal navigable to pleasure craft. Several studies were done to address environmental concerns. Because the canal was the main artery of an intensely industrial area for over a century, Parks Canada had to decide what needed to be done about contaminated sediments on the canal bottom. Tests in 1998 and 2001 showed that having boats use the canal under normal conditions would not cause any significant resuspension of sediments. The Lachine Canal revitalization project therefore went ahead, under the aegis of Parks Canada, with financial support from Canada Economic Development and Public Works and Government Services Canada. “The federal government has invested up to $37 million in this project so far," explains François Granger, the Parks Canada official responsible for environmental issues related to the Lachine Canal National Historic Site. “In addition to laying the environmental protection groundwork, these organizations have made it possible to carry out such projects as refitting the locks and refilling the Peel Basin.” (Map of the Peel Basin, PDF Format.)
Excavating the Peel Basin alone cost $7 million. More than 250,000 m3 of earth were moved to return the basin to its original shape and restore another part of Montreal’s rich heritage as a shipping port. In order to limit the impact on species living in the canal habitat, as many as 9,000 fish representing 22 species were moved for the duration of the work. The Peel Basin will give boaters access to marinas and the general public access to the river. In other work to protect the environment and stop contaminated sediments being exported into the St. Lawrence ecosystem, Parks Canada and Environment Canada have agreed to set up an environmental monitoring program along with an intervention plan when the Lachine Canal officially opens to navigation next May. If sediments do become resuspended, it may become necessary to take measures such as reducing the speed of boats or increasing the distance between them.
Testing the integrated approach to coastal zone management It is the policy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to invite those who live in coastal areas to take part in the decision making and planning that go into managing their zones. Therefore, the Department is providing financial and professional support for integrated coastal zone management projects now running in five communities. Integrated management means managing all of the natural resources and activities in a given area as part of a whole. Users must develop and implement measures that encompass all of the ecological, economic and social considerations pertaining to their zones.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada first tested this approach on the Upper North Shore, in the marine estuary of the St. Lawrence. The Les Escoumins to Betsiamites River integrated coastal zone management pilot project assembled contributors from all sectors. These local stakeholders worked together to write an integrated management plan in 1998, and the measures recommended in the plan are now being carried out. Bolstered by this success, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has supported the creation of four new integrated coastal zone management projects since 2000, in the Magdalen Islands, at Bonaventure and in Gaspé and Cascapedia bays. "It is interesting to see the role various Area of Prime Concern (ZIP) committees have played in setting up these projects,” says Marie-France Dalcourt, of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. For example, it was the Magdalen Islands ZIP Committee that began the consultative process that led to the creation of five lagoon management committees to promote the harmonized use of these inland bodies of water and ensure that their ecosystems are preserved. The ZIP Committee now provides the lagoon committees with support. On the Upper North Shore, the ZIP Committee for the north shore of the estuary has been collaborating on the Les Escoumins to Betsiamites River integrated coastal zone management project since its inception. The consultative process used to design the environmental remedial action plan and in integrated coastal zone management entails the statement of regional priorities. The ZIP Committee sees this kind of collaboration as a way of achieving its own objectives within the vast territory it serves. The Chaleur Bay ZIP Committee is collaborating on three local integrated management projects. The Committee has been using its consultative expertise to direct the work of the Cascapedia Bay Integrated Management Committee. The Chaleur Bay ZIP Committee is also supporting the launch of the Bonaventure integrated coastal zone management project, as well as participating in the activities of the Gaspé Bay Committee. "The ZIP committees have an excellent knowledge of the territory and have acquired invaluable expertise in how to bring about sustainable development. Their role in ensuring the success of integrated management projects is clearly vital," says Ms. Dalcourt.
Contacts: Héloïse
Bastien, Quebec Chair of the Habitats Subcommittee Marie-France
Dalcourt, biologist François
Granger, official responsible for environmental issues Renée
Langevin, Canadian Chair of the Habitats Subcommittee
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The purpose of this newsletter is to provide recent information on projects and activities surrounding the implementation of the St Lawrence Vision 2000 Action Plan.
|
|
 |
Information
last updated :
|
Important Notices |
 |
| URL of this page:
© St Lawrence Vision 2000. All rights reserved |
|||