Un appel pour la Restigouche

Photo: caissy.ca

"La Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada demande au gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick de s'engager, avant les élections automnales, à étendre la protection du bassin versant de la rivière Restigouche.

La rivière Restigouche est actuellement protégée contre l'exploitation forestière au Nouveau-Brunswick par une zone tampon d'une trentaine de mètres. Ce n'est pas assez, selon une porte-parole de la Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada, Sophie Paradis. « Ce n'est pas suffisant pour maintenir un écosystème, pour maintenir cette rivière en santé », affirme Sophie Paradis.

L'organisme considère que le bassin versant de la rivière Restigouche, une zone de 1 million d'hectares, est unique. C'est pourquoi il demande la protection d'environ 10 % de ce territoire, au Nouveau-Brunswick et au Québec, où l'on trouve toujours des forêts anciennes intactes. « Si on ne protège pas cette région-là de l'industrie forestière, on va la perdre, ce qui a des répercussions tant pour l'environnement que pour l'économie de la région », souligne Mme Paradis.

Sophie Paradis précise que si rien ne change, des espèces comme le lynx du Canada, la martre d'Amérique et le saumon de l'Atlantique seront en danger. La Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada compte sur une pétition en ligne pour influencer les décisions gouvernementales. Cette pétition compte déjà 3500 noms. Lien: http://restigouchesauvage.ca/

Personne au gouvernement provincial n'était disponible pour commenter la demande de la Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada."

Extraits du site de Radio-Canada.ca ici: http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/atlantique/2010/07/23/002-NB-restigouche.shtml
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"Conservation group wants to protect Restigouche River

From its source in the Appalachian Mountains of northwestern New Brunswick to the Chaleur Bay, long stretches of the Restigouche River remain virtually untouched, and a conservation group wants to keep it that way. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is spearheading a movement to preserve the river watershed, it calls "one of the most spectacular wildernesses in eastern Canada." "We still have the ability to protect it," said Roberta Clowater, executive director for the New Brunswick Chapter of CPAWS.

The river system is shared between New Brunswick and Quebec, with several of its tributaries flowing south from the Gaspé Peninsula. Because more than three quarters of the Restigouche River watershed is on Crown land, Clowater said both the New Brunswick and Quebec governments have a unique opportunity to preserve it. In New Brunswick, there is currently a 30-metre buffer around river systems that prohibits logging or mining. But Clowater said that restriction is mainly to preserve water quality, and doesn't take into consideration the habitat needs of wildlife such as Canada lynx, American marten, and barred owls.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society wants to designate the wildest portions of the watershed, roughly 10 per cent or 100,000 hectares, as a protected natural area. Forest management plans, Clowater said, show that most uncut areas of the Restigouche will be logged within 10 years.

The designation would prohibit logging, mining and new roads, while permitting activities such as hunting, fishing and camping. Although forestry is a major economic generator for the region, Clowater argued the move could actually help northern New Brunswick by bringing it recognition as an eco-tourism destination. "We think it could be really valuable from an economic diversification perspective, to be able to say we have areas that we are protecting," she said. It would be a complement to Mount Carleton provincial park, she said, which is south of the river system."

Excerpts from article written by published in the Telegraph-Journal here: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1140460

There is so little natural areas left in the much populated southern part of Quebec. I think we should try to save as much as we can, while encouraging densifying our urban areas and making them greener, walking and biking friendly, and put our public money in public transit.