{"id":70351,"date":"2024-11-04T10:44:37","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T15:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/?p=70351"},"modified":"2026-05-22T12:31:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:31:04","slug":"cohabitation-durable-riviere-richelieu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/en\/cohabitation-durable-riviere-richelieu\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable coexistence on the richelieu river: a strong vision and a clear action plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo credit: Jean-Marc Lecouturier<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Rivi\u00e8res Foundation has just completed an extensive consultation for the protection of the Richelieu River, in collaboration with the watershed organization COVABAR<\/a>. The project <\/span>Concerted Actions for a Model of Sustainable Coexistence on the Richelieu River<\/span><\/i> 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. <\/span><\/p>

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.<\/span><\/p>

\u00c9crivez-nous<\/a> pour obtenir des informations concernant le rapport complet sur la cohabitation durable sur le Richelieu!<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo credit: Jean-Marc Lecouturier<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the meantime, here are some key lessons we have learned over the past year.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Richelieu river: a river much more natural than we thought<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Copper knight, photo credit: Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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And yet, the Richelieu River is home to nearly 50 species in precarious situations (birds, fish, amphibians, etc.). It is the second<\/span>river with the most aquatic biodiversity<\/span><\/a> in Quebec after the Ottawa River! The star species is the copper knight<\/a> (Maxostoma hubbsi<\/span><\/i>) 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<\/a> (Ammocrypta pellucida<\/span><\/i>), the smallest of the teal species, the Green-winged teal<\/a> (Anas crecca carolinensis<\/span><\/i>), or the strange and discreet spiny softshell turtle<\/a> (Apalone spinifera<\/span><\/i>).\n<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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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. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Ash Island viewed from Lacolle, protected by the MELCCFP<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Sud River, near Henryville, a tributary of the Richelieu River, partly protected<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Navigating from access to access: taking a real inventory of the river<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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<\/a> events every year, in various locations across Quebec. Our first mission during the project was therefore to conduct a census of these accesses.<\/span><\/p>

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:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>