Saint-Sylvère: A peat bog protected thanks to a generous ecological donation

Bog laurel, Saint-Sylvère peat bog, QC (Photo by NCC)

The Saint-Sylvère peat bog in the Centre-du-Québec region plays an important role in the community. As well as helping to regulate and filter water, this wetland and the surrounding forest are home to a wide variety of birds, including a number of vulnerable species, such as Canada warbler, eastern wood pewee, bank swallow and barn swallow.

Canada warbler (Photo by Carl Savignac)

Thanks to a 116-hectare ecological gift from the Cascades company, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) can now protect an important section of this sensitive habitat. Ninety per cent of the new conservation area is wetlands, which contributes largely to carbon storage and water purification.

Protecting this habitat is all the more vital in a region where there is a high level of agricultural activity. The Saint-Sylvère peat bog is also part of a major corridor of wetlands running through the Centre-du-Québec region,

Eastern wood-pewee (Photo by Carl Savignac)

parallel to the St. Lawrence River. The ecological connectivity provided by protecting the peat bog allows, among other things, animals to move safely between different environments.

This property is strategically located in relation to other key natural areas. It is 16 kilometres from the Patrimoine-des-Hébert nature reserve,13 kilometres from the Saint-Rosaire marsh and 20 kilometres from the Léon-Provancher ecological reserve, which is home to the Lac aux Outardes heronry and the Lac Saint-Paul-Rivière Godefroy waterfowl concentration area.

These protected lands lie within the traditional Ndakina territory of the W8banaki Nation. We recognize the role and responsibility of the W8banaki Nation in the stewardship, management and conservation of this site, also known as the “Moz8depek” Bog, which means Moosehead Bog.

Thank you