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Laval citizens demand the conservation of the Saint François archipelago

Posted by Montreal Environment in Biodiversity, Sustainability, Urbanism

Sauvons nos trois grandes îles (Save our three great islands), a Laval citizen group founded in 1990, has presented a conservation plan for the preservation of the Saint François archipelago that straddles between Terrebonne and Laval. In 2001 the City of Laval adopted a plan for residential development on the three islands that make up the archipelago: l’île aux Vaches (141.5 ha),  l’île Saint-Pierre (19.5 ha) and l’île Saint-Joseph (36.5 ha). The residential development plan was recently repealed after more than 25,000 signatures were collected by Sauvons nos trois grandes îles, nevertheless the liberal deputies of the City of Laval have renounced to declare the 200ha area as a natural reserve. A meeting is scheduled for April 6 to decide what will become of the archipelago. The municipal evaluation places the value of the islands at approximately $9 million. The islands are owned by Minoit, a firm headed by Alex Kotler, the largest landowner in Laval, and the businessman Luigi Liberatore.

Lizard's tail

Apart from St Joseph Island the archipelago is only accessible by water and no development has taken place in the area. Approximately 40% of the area is comprised of wetland and riparian ecosystems and another 15% has been characterised as black maple (Acer nigrum) old growth forest, which is a rare and unique habitat of the St Laurence Valley. These habitats have been characterised as fragile given the intensive agricultural areas in Terrebonne and the large urban concentration of the City of Laval. Two rare and threatened species are found: the Map turtle (Graptemys geographica) on Saint-Joseph island and  Lizar’s Tail (Saururus cernuus), a medicinal and ornamental plant, on Vache and St Pierre islands. Last week Sauvons nos trois grandes îles presented its conservation plan that can be found on their website: www.sauvonsnostroisgrandesiles.com

The plan puts forward two zones: one as conservation where ecotourism can be undertaken and one for nature adventure tourism on l’île aux Vaches with minimal infrastructure. The conservation area will be accessible for observation and interpretation activities to limit the impact on the ecosystem, and the nature adventure zone will include multifunctional trails (hiking, snowshoe walking, cross-country skiing), bike paths, picnic areas, a public beach and playgrounds. An information center is proposed to be located at the existing Historical House on the Terrebonne shore. The archipelago is to be harmonized within the existing Rivière-des-Mille-Îles Park that was initiated and now managed by Eco-Nature and the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles Wildlife Refuge that comprises 10 islands of the Mille-Îles River.

Concept map St Francois archipelago

The status of the archipelago allows the area to conform to the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) land use and development plans and activities and the Quebec strategy for protected areas (Stratégie Québécoise des Aires Protégées). Created in 2001 the CMM is a planning, coordinating and funding body serving 82 municipalities, city of Laval included. Following the signing of Community Agreement on Sustainable Development (2002-2007) in 2002, the CMM founded the Metropolitan Secretariat for the Enhancement of Blue and Green Spaces (SMEBV) whose primary task is to implement the “Blue Fund”, an action plan for riverbank protection projects to enhance public access that has generated nearly $30 million in investment. Since 2005 the SMEBV has also coordinated a program to acquire green spaces of ecological importance so as to protect and enhance major woodlands, an investment of $3 million. The Sauvons nos trois grandes îles hopes to take advantage of the new $4.5 million investment plan for the Blue Fund for the 2009 fiscal year.

Mrs. Larochelle, one of the group’s administrative members is hopeful about the position taken by the city administrations:  “They tell us they continue to share our goals. What is important is that we are moving towards an acquisition and development plan. We want something concrete.” Nevertheless it hasn’t been easy for the citizens involved to appeal the 2001 residential development plan. Its repeal comes on the heels of a citizen’s complaint sent to the Ministry of municipal affairs (MAMR) in 2007 whose allegations of infringement of the citizens’ right to public consultations was supported by the ministry experts and which has opened debates for a public inquiry. The municipal council held a public consultation assembly on Thursday, March 26, 2009. The results will be made public in the coming months. In the meantime citizens are urged to sign the Sauvons nos trois grandes îles petition on their website.