Photo credit: Jean-Marc Lecouturier
The Rivières Foundation has just completed an extensive consultation for the protection of the Richelieu River, in collaboration with the watershed organization COVABAR. The project Concerted Actions for a Model of Sustainable Coexistence on the Richelieu River lasted a year and aimed to develop natural and ecosystem-friendly access to the riverbanks, define a mechanism for sharing the waterway, and highlight the tourism potential of the Richelieu River.
We brought together more than thirty stakeholders: municipalities, regional county municipalities (MRC), representatives of tourism organizations, and users' representatives. Six consultation meetings and a final presentation meeting were held to develop an ambitious and collective action plan, which will soon be unveiled once we have had the opportunity to present it to the elected officials.
In the meantime, here are some key lessons we have learned over the past year.
The Richelieu river: a river much more natural than we thought
The 125 km of the Richelieu River pass through major urban centers: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Chambly, Beloeil, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, and Sorel-Tracy. It is an important navigation route that connects the United States and Quebec. At first glance, when walking along the banks (where possible), one is more likely to see concrete retaining walls and pleasure boats than rare species or highly natural, picturesque environments.
And yet, the Richelieu River is home to nearly 50 species in precarious situations (birds, fish, amphibians, etc.). It is the secondriver with the most aquatic biodiversity in Quebec after the Ottawa River! The star species is the copper knight (Maxostoma hubbsi) since it is the only place where this fish, unique in the world, reproduces. The last two spawning grounds of this fish are hidden there. The river is also important for many other lesser-known species: the tiny and little-known sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida), the smallest of the teal species, the Green-winged teal (Anas crecca carolinensis), or the strange and discreet spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera).
In fact, there are several protected areas along the river, which includes 1,490 hectares of land (islands and shores) protected, among others, by the Ministry of Environment, Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks and Conservation of Nature Canada. However, this is far from sufficient to maintain a healthy river. The concertation project is set within this context: by proposing the development of the river and its access points to various stakeholders, it aims to improve its preservation, as well as the good coexistence between different users.
Navigating from access to access: taking a real inventory of the river
No official and up-to-date census was available at the start of the project to provide a real picture of the accesses available on the Richelieu River. In southern Quebec, the privatization of the shorelines and the lack of access to the shore is concerning. This is why we hold the Grand Splash events every year, in various locations across Quebec. Our first mission during the project was therefore to conduct a census of these accesses.
Meetings and individual contacts with the 25 municipalities helped to create an up-to-date portrait of the access points for citizens. As of June 2024, there were nearly 71 access points on the Richelieu River, including:
- 36 municipal access points
- 5 federal access points
- 30 private commercial access points, most of which are marinas.
This picture is constantly evolving: several municipalities have projects to open or improve access to the river. With its whitewater pool, Beloeil has just enhanced its access to the river.
The Richelieu River: a river saturated with boats in certain areas
The Richelieu River is not very deep and becomes narrower as you approach its mouth. However, its strategic location near Montreal and in Montérégie makes it an ideal playground for many Quebecers. Moreover, since the pandemic, the popularity of non-motorized water sports, especially stand-up paddleboarding, has not waned and adds more traffic to an already busy river. Added to this are the more occasional but equally important uses: fishing, diving, and swimming.
At the time of our survey, about 70% of the accesses could accommodate motorboats, 60% non-motorized vessels (canoes, kayaks, paddleboards), and a minority were designed for fishing or swimming. When accesses are intended for multiple types of vessels, cohabitation is not always easy: some mixed accesses (motorboats and non-motorized) become harder to use on weekends with high traffic for canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards due to large waves and the number of boats on the water.
The dialogue with the municipalities and people frequenting the Richelieu River has allowed us to understand that certain areas of the river were particularly saturated, due to heavy traffic or the very sensitive characteristics of the natural environment. Among them: the Chambly basin, the area opposite Saint-Ours and Saint-Roch, the mouth, near the water intakes of Sorel-Tracy.
Collective measures are necessary to ensure both the safety of everyone frequenting the river and to maintain the environment in good condition. Many actions in our action plan focus on this sustainable cohabitation. Stay tuned to learn more in the coming weeks!
This project is financially supported by the Government of Quebec as part of Destination Durable and Action Concertée, a support measure coordinated by the Quebec Action Fund for Sustainable Development (FAQDD) arising from the Plan for a Green Economy 2030 and the Action Plan for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism 2020-2025.
