The Gouvernement du Québec approved the designation of the Réserve de territoire aux fins d’aire protégée du Marais-Maritime 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.
The Réserve de territoire aux fins d’aire protégée du Marais-Maritime is located in Ungava Bay, between the communities of Kuujjuaq and Kangiqsualujjuaq. It intersects with essential subsistence areas, especially due to the abundance of Arctic char, salmon, trout, migratory woodland caribou and fur-bearing animals. It is also a valued waterfowl habitat. Numerous types of habitats make up this territory, shaped by scoured landforms, beach deposits, palsa mires, Rogen moraines, and drumlins. Certain outfitting operations intersects with this territory, a reflection of its tourism potential.
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.