This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Three hours of boat exploration immerse you in the heart of the unique ecosystem of the Lake Saint-Pierre World Biosphere Reserve, haunted by multiple stories.
As our little boat makes its way through the Chenal du Moine, on the south shore of Lac Saint-Pierre, the dashing captain Yves Marchand evokes the memory of this eponymous religious man who leaves his reclusive life, in the winter of 1646, to celebrate mass at Fort Richelieu and who is lost, body and goods, at the height of the storm. This labyrinth of canals and channels is indeed inhabited by historical characters, but also romantic ones. For example The Survenantwho was tempted for a time by the comfortable daily life of a family farm on the banks of the Moine channel, and who ended up giving it up to return to “the wide world”. It is here, in her small chalet on stilts at Îlette-au-Pé, that the writer Germaine Guèvremont wrote the sequel to this work that made her success, Marie-Didace.
An exceptional ecosystem
Welcome aboard the Nature hikethe motorboat of the Biophare, the museum institution planted in front of the river, at the mouth of the Richelieu River. For three hours, we sail at the end of the day in the archipelago of Lake Saint-Pierre while listening to our captain bring to life the small and big history. Our boat crosses the waters and ventures into the narrow channels in the heart of the world biosphere reserve. This honor was established in 2000 to highlight the richness of this lake territory that unfolds just before the estuary between Sorel and Trois-Rivières.
“Few places in Quebec have as much biodiversity,” summarizes Geneviève Tardy, Executive Director of the Zone d’intervention prioritaire du lac Saint-Pierre (ZIPLSP), the UNESCO recognition agent. It is a stopover for many migratory birds, including the St. Lawrence waterfowl, a species protected in the Nicolet migratory bird sanctuary. The territory also includes the largest heronry in North America, inaccessible within the Grande-Île wildlife den during the nesting season when the birds perch their nests atop the silver maples.
Flooded plains
As we continue our exploration of Lake Saint-Pierre and the Sorel Islands, the view extends far thanks to the low vegetation and the abundance of marshes and wetlands recognized as being of international importance by the Ramsar Convention. Each spring, the snowmelt submerges the plain, connecting a wide variety of wetlands for several weeks, particularly on Bibeau Island, one of the rare electrified islands not connected by a bridge. As we observe a small family of white-tailed deer, who have come to drink at the water’s edge, we see a succession of chalets on stilts whose high foundations act as a barrier to the spring flood. In the area, the story of the spectacular flood of April 1865, which killed dozens, is passed down from generation to generation.
On the banks, broad-leaved arrowhead proliferates, an aquatic plant known for filtering and oxygenating water. All of Sorel’s islands benefit from its ability to act as a barrier to heavy metals and other pollutants that are still being released by the Yamaska, Saint-François, Nicolet and Richelieu rivers. “Agriculture is now the main threat to the ecological integrity of Lake Saint-Pierre,” explains Geneviève Tardy.
A wild nature
At the end of the day, flocks of barn swallows, eastern kingbirds and black terns multiply in front of the narrow Île aux Fantômes, so named because of a sinister legend. A little girl is said to have drowned in its waters and her repeated complaints are said to have been heard during the night by the residents. The boat enters between Île Lacroix, access is prohibited due to the presence of the dragon tree, a plant endangered in Quebec. Deciduous trees and weeping willows surround Île Lacroix and Île à la Perche, in the Straham Channel.
As we begin our return, via the Chenal aux Raisins, we observe a huge bald eagle nest perched at the top of a red oak. And this, at the moment when a muskrat crosses the channel in front of the bow of our boat. We then enter the Cardin Channel and its maze of twists and turns lined with rushes, the “lungs of the St. Lawrence”. Not a house or a communication tower on the horizon; 45 minutes from Montreal, we are in the middle of a wilderness as far as the eye can see.
Ecological threats
As we leave the maze, we return to Lake Saint-Pierre: we come across cargo ships loaded with containers using the waterway. The increasing maritime traffic causes a sloshing that accelerates the erosion of the banks, hence the speed limit imposed on navigation in the area. But it is mainly motorized pleasure craft — outboards and jet skis — that cause the degradation of the banks, particularly along the channels. Rockfill work was indeed carried out in the 1980s to protect the shores — and the wildlife that lives there — but climate change is further accelerating the phenomenon.
Within a navigation committee, the Lake Saint-Pierre Priority Intervention Zone is working on adopting a regulation on traffic speed in the Sorel Islands archipelago. “The goal: reduce bank erosion that causes the loss of endangered species,” summarizes Geneviève Tardy. But she insists: “Residents also have a role to play. We are conducting communication campaigns to explain to citizens what it means to live in a biodiversity reserve.” Adherence to sustainable mobility and eco-responsible practices could be a promising avenue.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.