Quebec approves roadwork in rare forest under review for protected status

A rare old-growth forest in Quebec’s Mauricie region is at the centre of a growing conflict between conservation advocates and the provincial government, after forestry roadwork was authorized in an area currently under review for protected status.

The forest, known as the Grandbois Lakes forest, is located near Sainte-Thècle, in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality, northeast of Shawinigan. Composed largely of red spruce trees, the ecosystem is considered one of the last intact forests of its kind in southern Quebec.

Despite its ecological value, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests has approved the construction of a winter road through part of the forest — a step that could lead to logging in the coming months. The roadwork is slated to be carried out by the forestry company Forex Langlois.

That decision sparked a citizen mobilization on Monday morning near the planned worksite, in the area of Lac du Missionnaire and Lac du Jésuite. Environmental groups and local residents gathered to oppose what they say is a threat to an irreplaceable ecosystem.

“We mobilized because winter roadwork and eventual logging are planned in the Grandbois Lakes old-growth forest — a diamond we want to preserve,” said Catherine Lessard, co-ordinator of the Biodiversity Reserve Mékinac collective.

Lessard describes the situation as paradoxical: a territory accepted for analysis as a protected area being simultaneously opened up for forestry operations.

“Once it’s cut, it’s cut,” she told Radio-Canada. “You can’t put a cathedral back once it’s destroyed.”

According to Louis Bélanger, a retired forestry professor at Université Laval who has studied old-growth forests for more than three decades, the site is exceptional.

“This is the last intact red spruce forest between Montreal and Quebec City,” says Bélanger, who visited the area last year.

He says he took tree core samples that show that many trees are over 200 years old, with at least one dating back 257 years “to the time of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham,” he said. 

Bélanger explains that red spruce forests once dominated the landscape along the St. Lawrence corridor but were heavily exploited during the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result, intact examples of this ecosystem have virtually disappeared.

What makes the Grandbois Lakes forest particularly significant, he says, is its size. Covering roughly seven square kilometres, it is large enough to sustain complex biodiversity, including habitats for several threatened species such as bats, the southern flying squirrel and the chimney swift.

Bélanger warns that even limited road construction could have serious consequences.

“Once you open a road, you lose the integrity of the forest,” he said, explaining that wind exposure, habitat fragmentation and follow-up logging can quickly degrade ecosystems that depend on remaining undisturbed.

The forest is currently being analyzed as part of Quebec’s call for projects to create new protected areas, a process led by the Environment Ministry. However, under existing rules, forestry activities may continue until a final decision is made.

Citizens and environmental groups are calling on the provincial government to impose a temporary moratorium on roadwork and logging until the evaluation is complete. They stress that their opposition is directed at government policy, not at forestry workers or companies complying with existing permits.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests was contacted for comment but did not respond by publication time.