Here are the results that have been achieved for each component of the action plan:

A total of 7,242.52 hectares of habitat were protected. The initial objective was 7,000 hectares. The report "Assessment 1993-1998", presented by the Habitat Technical Committee, presents the results achieved in this field.

Thirty-four recovery plans were developed, 27 of which have been implemented. This result surpassed the initial objective to recover 12 species that were threatened or in decline.

A list was drawn up of 155 species whose populations are threatened or in decline in the St Lawrence corridor : "Rapport sur les espèces de faune et de flore prioritaires au Plan d'action Saint-Laurent Vision 2000" (this document is available at the Environment Canada library), excluding invertebrates and non-vascular plants. Knowledge was gathered about 60 of the species, status reports were prepared for 35 and an official designation was given to one species (a plant, Griscom’s Arnica).

An awareness and training program for farmers to help them to start changing their practices to allow for the rehabilitation of the rainbow smelt population (documents are available at the St. Lawrence Centre library).

Five disturbed marine habitats were restored and enhanced: the Grand Pabos (Chandler), Malbaie (southern end of the Gaspé peninsula) and Bonaventure barachois, the Havre aux Basques lagoon (Magdalen Islands) and the Pointe aux Outardes marsh (near Baie Comeau).

Characterization studies and restoration scenarios were also carried out for five other marine habitats: the New Richmond, New Carlisle and Paspébiac barachois, the Rivière du Loup marsh and des Écorces Bay (Baie Comeau).

A Fish Habitat Management Information System (FHAMIS)  was developed. The system provides information on resources, habitats and human factors for the entire marine part of the St Lawrence and Northern Quebec.

The "St Lawrence Beluga Recovery Plan", "the Implementation Plan of the SLV 2000 Partnership in Response to the Recommendations of the St Lawrence Beluga Recovery Plan" and "the Implementation of the St Lawrence Beluga Recovery Plan: 1996-1997" were disseminated (these three documents were produced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada).

Twenty-two status reports were produced on plants likely to be designated as threatened species (documents are available at the Environnement Québec library).

The "Guide d'identification du phytoplancton marin de l'estuaire et du golfe du Saint-Laurent" [a guide to identifying marine phytoplankton in the estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence] was disseminated (on sale and available in libraries).

Production of the document Bolstering the Banks of the St. Lawrence (this link goes to Environment Canada Web site).

Agriculture

A brochure entitled "Pour une eau de qualité en milieu rural : comprendre et agir collectivement" [For good quality water in rural areas: understanding and acting together] was published.

Environmental monitoring of pesticides was carried out in some rivers and streams in priority drainage basins to complement information available on pesticide-contaminated water.

Agro-environmental assessments were performed on four designated drainage basins: the Boyer, Chaudière, Assomption and Yamaska.

Four reports were produced to provide ideas on river restoration.

Four environmental pilot projects in agricultural areas were carried out on the Turmel Stream (Chaudière River basin), the St Esprit Stream (Assomption River basin), the Corbin Stream (Yamaska River basin) and a portion of the Boyer River basin.

Community Involvement

The Area of Prime Concern (ZIP) program was set up.

The public participated in the preparation and implementation of 11 Environmental Remedial Action Plans (ERAPs) submitted by ten ZIP committees.

Thirteen environmental assessments of the current state of each Area of Prime Concern were produced for submission to the ZIP committees.

The Community Interaction financial assistance program was set up.

Funding was provided for 100 projects from 53 non-profit organizations. This link goes on some examples of completed projects.

Decision Support

The St Lawrence Centre Documentation Centre was opened.

A mass balance of contaminants was prepared for the St. Lawrence River between Cornwall and Quebec City.

A portrait of the contamination of the flesh of sport fish in the fluvial lakes of the St. Lawrence and certain areas of the River corridor was developed.

A fish monitoring network was set up between 1995 and 1997.

Samples were taken from five stretches of the freshwater portion of the St. Lawrence to develop an initial portrait of habitat quality.

Three families of organic compounds and heavy metals were studied to determine the level and quantity of atmospheric pollutants present in the air and precipitations in the St. Lawrence basin.

Data on water quality in the St Lawrence and its tributaries were gathered from more than 40 rivers and streams.

An ecosystem study was conducted on the Chaudière, St François, St Maurice and Yamaska rivers to assess biological integrity using measurements of benthic communities and fish.

More than 210,000 analyses were carried out in relation to the River itself, monitoring networks, characterization and restoration work, research and development projects and certification studies.

Four bioassays were developed to assess sediment toxicity.

Studies of beluga, fin whale and harbour seal population dynamics were conducted.

Publication of three "Issue" fact sheets.

The report "Qualité des eaux du fleuve Saint-Laurent 1990 à 1997"(this link goes to the ministère de l'Environnement du Québec Web site) [Water quality in the St Lawrence River, 1990-1997] was disseminated.

Twelve Environmental Atlas of the St Lawrence maps " (available at the St Lawrence Centre library), 100 Info-Flash articles and two thematic reports were produced.

The "Atlas of tidal currents".

The 1995 edition of the "Guide de consommation du poisson de pêche sportive en eau douce" (this link goes to the ministère de l'Environnement du Québec Web site) [Guide to consumption of freshwater sport fish] was disseminated.

Health

Thirty-eignt studies were carried out among 3,000 people regarding exposure to chemical and microbiological contaminants as well as an evaluation in relation to standards established by health organizations. The studies confirmed that riverside populations are exposed to various chemical and microbiological contaminants present in the St Lawrence.

Six studies looked at the riverside population’s uses of the St Lawrence and how they perceived these uses and the health risks involved. More than 20,000 people took part in the studies. The data were used to assess the public’s knowledge of the risks related to contamination. The results of the initial analyses of the study data are presented in "Reflections on the St. Lawrence. River Voices".

"Health and the St. Lawrence: A Status Report": is a summary of current knowledge of the St Lawrence and health was produced and disseminated.

A special funding program was set up to encourage citizen participation. Fifteen community groups carried out projects during the two years of the program.

In 1995, a knowledge development fund was set up. The research support fund fostered the development of nine innovative, multidisciplinary studies to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the riverside population’s health and the St Lawrence.

Protection

As a priority, 106 industrial plants were identified. Fifty plants were identified in the SLAP, and another 56 were added under Phase II. Discharge standards were established, objectives were calculated and effluent characterizations were carried out for the 56 new plants. Compliance of the work and the quality of the effluent discharged were monitored at the 50 plants targeted by the SLAP.

A fact sheet was produced for each of the 106 industrial plants.

Another objective of the Protection component was to virtually eliminate 11 persistent and bioaccumulative toxic substances. Mercury, PCBs and dioxins and furans were reduced by 89%, 100% and 92% respectively in the sectors where they were found.

The Technology Development and Demonstration Program (TDDP) (this link goes to The Green Lane Web site) and the Development and Demonstration of Site Remediation Technology (DESRT) (this link goes to the Environment Canada Web site) program were set up to encourage and support a number of projects with various players from the environment industry. These projects offered the 106 plants better environmental management options. The TDDP and the DESRT program also supported some of the Action Plan’s other objectives, such as support for dredging projects.

Thirty-five technological data sheets and two project profiles were published.

Restoration

The work carried out provided a better assessment of the erosion problem: 25% of the 1,500 km of shoreline in the sector studied showed signs of erosion; 50% of the 224 islands in the Montreal-Sorel sector are receding an average of 1 to 3 metres annually.

Shoreline stabilization techniques were developed to complement the traditional riprap method. The new approaches tested were the gabion, branch layering, faggot, fascine and sediment structure techniques.

Pilot projects carried out:

• Cacouna marshes were restored to counter dyking and encroachment from the harbour.
• Spartina marshes were restored to offset the effects of agricultural drainage that leads to draining of tidal pools and modification of plant cover in adjacent marshes.
• Some previously developed riparian bogs were enhanced.
• A marsh in an agricultural area was created.
• An abandoned sandpit at St Jean Chrysostome was restored.

The "Guide d’intervention. Restauration naturelle des rives du Saint-Laurent... entre Cornwall et l’île d’Orléans..." [a guide for the natural restoration of the banks of the St Lawrence between Cornwall and Île d’Orléans] was disseminated (on sale and available in libraries).

A multipurpose marina was built at Havre St Pierre in the Mingan Islands to improve the effectiveness of environmental emergency response, natural resource monitoring, enforcement and public safety programs.