Nature Reserves: How to Preserve your Property's Natural Attractions

Are you particularly proud of the land, wood lot, marshland, peat bog, or any other striking landscape feature you own? Does your property have significant natural attractions such as mature forest, a marsh, a lake, a moose winter yard, turtles or any rare species? Is the view from your property on the surrounding landscape exceptional? Is your property part of a much larger scenery that gives your town a genuinely unique character?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you possess a precious resource. Such natural attractions and landscape features are a valuable indicator of the quality of your environment, which contributes in turn to the environmental health of your community.

Supporting private stewardship of ecosystems, species and landscapes

In order to support property owners (individuals or legal entities) in their will to safeguard the ecosystems, species and landscapes deserving protection on their property, the Québec government adopted the Natural Heritage Conservation Act on December 18, 2002, which allows the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks to recognize private properties as recognized nature reserves (article 56 and after).

The purpose of the Natural Heritage Conservation Act is to safeguard Québec's natural heritage. The Act provides measures facilitating the establishment of a network of protected areas representative of Québec’s biodiversity. Under the provisions of the Act, private lands can be recognized as nature reserves. In order to have land recognized, the land in question must have biological, ecological, wildlife, floristic, geological, geomorphic or landscape features whose interest warrants the preservation of the property, and the landowner must file an application. It is possible for the landowner to make management arrangements with a non-profit conservation organization that will manage the property. Such agreements need to be approved during the recognition process. Recognition of land as a nature reserve may be perpetual or for a term of not less than 25 years.

The Act also prescribes the conditions under which land can be recognized as a nature reserve. One condition is the signature of an agreement respecting the recognition of a nature reserve in which the landowner must agree to apply specific conservation measures. Such agreements can be amended and the Minister has the right, in certain cases, to withdraw recognition of a nature reserve.

This statute makes possible the preservation of the natural components of a private land without the owner having to part with his rights on that land. It allows the Minister to establish a partnership with the landowner within the framework of a private stewardship project. This project may have arisen from the landowner’s thought or through a joint undertaking between a landowner and a not-for-profit conservation organization. To have your project recognized as a nature reserve with a protected area status, it must meet certain eligibility criteria. Critères d’admissibilité et informations supplémentaires – réserve naturelle reconnue au Registre des aires protégées au Québec (French, PDF, 13,4 MB) sets out all the eligibility criteria that must be met for the various cases.

Applying is easy

Any property owner wishing to have its property recognized as a nature reserve may apply to the Ministère using the Guide and application form ( PDF, 574 KB)  and sending the necessary documents for recognition of a nature reserve by post or by email. The application must contain the following information:

• the name(s) and address(es) of the landowner(s)
• a description of the property and its cadastral designation
• a summary site plan showing existing buildings, facilities, infrastructures and installations, as well as a brief description of them
• a copy of any authorization or permit requested by a law or regulation relating to activities carried out on the property
• the significant features of the property that warrant preservation: marshland, lakeshore or riverbank, plant or animal habitat, exceptional plant community, striking landscape, presence of a rare species, etc.
• the term of recognition applied for: perpetual or for a term no less than 25 years
• a description of the conservation measures to be implemented
• a list of the activities to be allowed or prohibited on the property
• the management arrangements of the property, and (if this is the case) that this will be done by a not-for-profit conservation organization
• a copy of the deed for the property to be recognized as a nature reserve

Furthermore, one of the preliminary requirements for recognition defined in the Act, is the signing of a nature reserve agreement between the landowner and the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.

The agreement shall include the following: a description of the property and its characteristics; the term of recognition, management arrangements and, where applicable, identification of the conservation organization that will assume management of the new nature reserve; conservation measures to be implemented and a description of allowed and prohibited activities.

In accordance with the Act, the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks publishes a notice stating that the property is recognized as a nature reserve in the Gazette officielle du Québec and in a local or regional newspaper or, if there is no such newspaper, in the region closest to the recognized property. The recognition takes effect on the date of the publication of the notice in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

Moreover, the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks requires the registration of the agreement in the Land Register of Québec. The agreement, once registered, is binding on all subsequent owners of the property. Lastly, the Minister issues the landowner a certificate attesting that the property has been recognized as a nature reserve and will require registration of the nature reserve in the Register of Protected Areas in Québec.

The many advantages of having your property recognized as a nature reserve

Having your property recognized as a nature reserve has many advantages, such as:

• The Act allows landowners to protect ecosystems, species and landscape features on their property, without having to give up their rights on the land, by creating a conservation partnership with the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.
• The Act is an alternative to the acquisition of a dominant tenement, in cases where a servitude cannot be imposed.
• The Act provides a simple, flexible framework for recognition of a property, particularly for registration of a legal conservation status.
• The landowner sets out the conservation conditions through an agreement entered into with the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, solely or jointly with a not-for-profit conservation organization. In other words, the landowner may propose measures corresponding to different protection levels, or may maintain or authorize certain activities deemed to be in keeping with the preservation of the property’s natural assets.
• If the landowner so desires, the Act may guarantee perpetual preservation for the benefit of future generations.
• Through its penal provisions, the Natural Heritage Conservation Act simplifies, for the landowner or conservation organization, the necessary administrative steps and legal proceedings resulting from trespassing on or damages to, property recognized as a nature reserve.

Do not hesitate to contact conservation organizations in your area. By spearheading many conservation projects on Québec’s private lands, these organizations have been the first to make landowners aware of their property's significant natural features and the need to protect them. They also have considerable expertise as managers of natural sites. Their commitment to safeguarding our natural heritage is underscored in the Natural Heritage Conservation Act.

Guide and application form for recognition of a nature reserve

Guide and application form ( PDF, 440 KB)

To send a recognition request:

Email: reserve.naturelle@environnement.gouv.qc.ca

Post:

Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs
Direction des aires protégées
Édifice Marie-Guyart, 4^e étage, boîte 21
675, boul. René-Lévesque Est
Québec (Québec) G1R 5V7

For further information:

Please contact the Ministère’s General Information Service.