Federal investment for five new multi-year projects, as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan’s Community Interaction Program

Community Interaction Program (CIP)

The CIP is a financial assistance program promoting community projects aimed at conserving and improving the St. Lawrence ecosystem. Part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan 2011-2026, the program is implemented by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Quebec's Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MDDELCC).

New funded projects

1. Implementation of agri-environmental action plans in the Lake Saint-Paul watershed – Riparian strip planting – Phase 2

Proponent: Comité ZIP Les Deux Rives

Category: Restoration

Description: Lake Saint-Paul, located in Bécancour, is bordered to the north by the Léon-Provencher ecological reserve and is an ecosystem of great biodiversity. In addition to being recognized as the home of at-risk or vulnerable species, such as the bridle shiner, Lake Saint-Paul is also a preferred habitat for the yellow perch, an aquatic species of the St. Lawrence River for which a fishing moratorium is currently in place. Intensive agricultural activities in the watershed, which generate heavy inputs of nutrient-rich sediments into the lake from its tributaries, have resulted in a degradation of its water quality, leading to impacts such as the appearance of blue-green algae. Following the initiatives undertaken in project IC-3932, which involved 22 agricultural producers in the implementation of agri-environmental action plans, the goal of this project will be to create 16 kilometres of riparian buffer strips and bring about changes in agricultural practices. 

Amount awarded: $61,634

Project duration: April 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019

2. Restoration of agricultural streams and vegetation cover in the Bois-Blanc River watershed

Proponent: AGIR Maskinongé

Category: Study-action

Description: The Bois-Blanc River is a tributary of the St. Lawrence River, joining it near the Berthier Islands, just upstream of Lake Saint-Pierre. The water supplied by this river and its small tributaries contains high concentrations of nutrients and suspended matter owing to intensive agricultural practices, thereby creating local conditions of significant pollution in the St. Lawrence River. These conditions affect the biodiversity of the St. Lawrence. This project is part of the effort to implement the action plan (IC 4108 ) that has engaged the agricultural community in restoring the Lake Saint-Pierre ecosystem. The various enhancement initiatives that will be carried out under this project will make it possible to restore the natural flow of the streams, reduce erosion and retain sediments. These actions will also be combined with the adoption of different farming practices by agricultural producers, such as intercropping, which involves growing more than one crop in the same field at the same time, and including cover crops in the rotation, with the objective of reducing erosion and retaining sediments.

Amount awarded: $134,446

Project duration: April 3, 2018 to March 31, 2021

3. Restoration of the spit of the Saint-Omer bank

Proponent: Comité ZIP Gaspésie

Category: Study-action

Description: The Saint-Omer bank is considered unique in Gaspé, being the site of a beach recognized as one of the finest in Chaleur Bay. The spit of the bank is very dynamic, expanding and contracting in response to storm erosion and sediment inputs. This spit protects a lagoon, which contains a marsh of brackish water of great ecological value. However, without interventions aimed at countering coastal erosion and submersion of the bank, the salt marsh is exposed to serious consequences that could lead to its disappearance. As a result, wetlands could be degraded or destroyed, and the ecological services provided by the marsh to the species of the St. Lawrence River would be lost. The goal of this project is to preserve the integrity of the area through stabilization work, including sediment recharge and the planting of vegetation. A community awareness patrol to promote environmentally responsible practices in coastal environments is also planned during the two summer periods of the project.

Amount awarded: $92,890

Project duration: May 1, 2018 to March 31, 2021

4. Habitat development for yellow perch in the Lake Saint-Paul area

Proponent: Groupe de concertation des bassins versants de la zone Bécancour (GROBEC)

Category: Restoration

Description: This project is in response to the decline in populations of yellow perch, a species of the St. Lawrence River for which a fishing moratorium has been in place since 2012. Following the completion in 2016 of work to characterize and model the species’ breeding habitat in the section of the St. Lawrence near Bécancour (IC 3710 ), the proponent has identified priority sites for intervention. With the objective of reversing the reduction in carrying capacity for the breeding and rearing of yellow perch, this project will make it possible to enhance the sites identified as priorities and thus restore areas of lost habitat in the littoral zone of Lake Saint-Paul, in Bécancour. The enhancements include widening and changing the slopes of agricultural ditches, creating basins and channels, and carrying out revegetation. 

Amount awarded: $142,000 

Project duration: April 3, 2018 to March 31, 2021

5. Preserving the shoreline habitats of Nitassinan

Proponent: First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute (FNQLSDI)

Category: Study-action

Description: The members of the Innu community of Ekuanitshit are concerned about shoreline erosion along the St. Lawrence River, particularly since this phenomenon is intensifying because of climate change. Through this project, the FNQLSDI will support the community in combating the loss of natural environments of interest on the reserve, which are places of cultural importance for the practice of traditional fishing, hunting and gathering activities. By identifying a priority site for restoration, using natural methods of revegetation, and incorporating community awareness-raising activities to promote the adoption of best practices in coastal environments, the project will make it possible to protect natural environments that are important for wildlife and plants. It will also promote the preservation of traditional gathering sites, used by the Innu for hundreds of years.

Amount awarded: $161,107

Project duration: April 3, 2018 to December 31, 2020