Open in full screen mode Mont Kaaikop is the second highest peak in the Laurentians, after Mont Tremblant. (Archive photo) Speech synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, makes it possible to generate spoken text from written text. The Ministry of the Environment finally agreed to set aside the territory of Mount Kaaikop, located in the Laurentians. This is great news to highlight the 12 years of ecological activism of the members of the Coalition Conservation Mont-Kaaikop, who have been opposing logging in this territory since April 2013. Approximately 40 km2 of the mountain, which sits in Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, will therefore be protected from the action of forestry contractors and real estate developers.
40.5 square kilometers of the Kaaikop massif is now protected by the Ministry of the Environment.
It’s a great victory,” rejoices Claude Samson, president of the Coalition Conservation Mont-Kaaikop. The territory has been protected since the end of December against any logging or mining, he indicates.
But the work is not finished. The coalition now wishes to propose to the ministry a plan to preserve and enhance the ecosystems of Mount Kaaikop.
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Mr. Samson invites visitors not to storm the site, to avoid destroying efforts to protect biodiversity, he explained in an interview on Wednesday on the show Le < em>15-18.
Part of Mount Kaaikop protected for its rich biodiversity. BROADCAST HERE FIRST. 15-18.
Part of Mount Kaaikop protected for its rich biodiversity
BROADCAST HERE PREMIERE15-18
Listen to the audio (A part of Mount Kaaikop protected for its rich biodiversity. 6 minutes 8 seconds) The coalition plan therefore provides for zones of allocation on the territory, in particular for recreational tourism and for university research, as well as areas strictly reserved for wildlife. It is important to leave room for wildlife. The collapse of biodiversity is the consequence of human invasion and climate change. A quote from Claude Samson, president of the Coalition Conservation Mont-Kaaikop Mont Kaaikop, which rises to an altitude of 838 meters, is the second highest massif in the Laurentians, after Mont Tremblant. To fight the climate crisis, we must ideally protect territories already rich in biodiversity and Mount Kaaikop is one that has been forgotten, explains Claude Samson. The coalition insists that Mount Kaaikop is a jewel of biological diversity. It is mainly covered with unique ancient forests, 80 to 250 years old, which, located at altitude, have been able to withstand the numerous logging in recent years. We need old forests. They are home to between 20% and 40% more species, and when we know that around 50% of them are still unknown, or even unknown throughout the world, the precautionary principle applies.
View of the valley from Mount Kaaikop located at 838 m altitude. (Archive photo)
It was in 2013 that Claude Samson learned, between the branches, that vast logging operations were planned at Mount Kaaikop and in the forest corridors that surround it. surround.
At the time, we tried to put a one-year moratorium on the territory because it was claimed that there were ancient forests in the area, which has since been demonstrated by several experts, explains the president of the coalition.
Following the government's refusal, the environmental group went to superior court to stop the cuts . However, although it won its case in court in 2014, the group has since demanded the permanent protection of Mount Kaaikop, its biodiversity and the very old trees, often two hundred years old, which cover around 60% of the massif.
Claude Samson reports that more than $311,000 has been raised since the creation of the coalition to assess its recreational tourism potential and carry out studies supporting the ecological value of the mountain with elected officials at all levels of government, such as studies on the fauna, flora and the economic impact of the mountain.
Map locating Mount Kaaikop between the MRC of Matawinie and the Laurentians, in Quebec.
In 2013, we had difficulty, even within our own MRCs (Editor's note: those of the Laurentides and Matawinie), in obtaining the support of the region's mayors. Today there is a revival. The new elected officials, like the oldest, now want to protect the territory. We have a lot more listening from elected officials, concedes Claude Samson.
Our mountain is worth more by protecting it than by logging.
A quote from Claude Samson, president of the Coalition Conservation Mont-Kaaikop
The government of Quebec is therefore continuing its objective announced in April 2021 to protect 30% of the territory by 2030.
With information from Alexis Tremblay and Normand Grondin
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