The Gouvernement du Québec approved the designation of the Réserve de territoire aux fins d’aire protégée Rivière-Kanaaupscow-et-Lac-Kukamawa following the submission in the fall of 2020 of a joint brief from the Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks. The legally protected status contemplated for this territory is that of a “biodiversity reserve,” which is governed by the Natural Heritage Conservation Act.
Geographical location, boundaries and dimensions
Brief description
The Réserve de territoire aux fins d’aire protégée Rivière-Kanaaupscow-et-Lac-Kukamaw is contributing to the attainment of representativeness objectives pertaining to the territorial zone of the Rivière à la Baleine Undulating Plain. It also responds to a need expressed by the Cree community of Chisasibi for an extensive protected area encompassing numerous significant cultural elements such as hunting camps, traditional travel routes, and archaeological sites. Occurrences of several vulnerable wildlife species such as lake sturgeon, bald eagles, and harlequin ducks, are also found there. It should be noted that this territorial reserve for protected area purposes is separated into three adjacent sectors in order to exclude a segment of the river and a corridor to facilitate the possible installation of hydro transmission lines.
Protection measures applied in the territory
No natural resource exploration or exploitation activity (mining, energy and forests) is allowed in the territory of the territorial reserve for protected area purposes. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks will ensure the maintenance of the administrative and legal provisions that their prohibition requires.