Noire and Coulonge Campaign

News

UPDATE May 12, 2021: We have included updates on our Noire & Coulonge protected area project, in partnership with CREDDO. Learn more about the project’s progress by clicking the “Protecting the Noire & Coulonge” tab above!

CPAWS-OV is pleased to announce that our project to create 115,000 hectares protected area in the Noire and Coulonge Rivers watershed will be funded, in part, by Canada Nature Fund’s Target 1 Challenge initiative. 

This funding will enable CPAWS-OV and the CREDDO (Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais), a collaborator in the project, to work to protect and showcase two majestic rivers located in the lush wilderness of the MRC Pontiac.

We want to ensure that the protected area will, not only, preserve ecologically significant areas but also promote sustainable development and diversify the economy of the region.

In the Noire and Coulonge Rivers Protected Area, hiking, cottaging, camping, hunting, fishing, ATVing and snowmobiling will be permitted. Also, visitors and residents will be able to enjoy whitewater paddling in one of the Outaouais’ best-kept secrets.

In addition to the contribution from the Government of Canada, this project is made possible thanks to the support of the Schad, Consecon and Echo foundations, CREDDO, Evolugen, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Eco2Urb and CPAWS-OV.

For more information on the project, please consult our press release and fact sheet.

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

In the summer 2018, the government of Québec announced its intention to protect 84,700 hectares of the Noire and Coulonge watershed. The protected area would be the equivalent of an IUCN III, therefore allowing the practice of all type of recreational activities while prohibiting mining and logging. For more information, please read our press release (French only).

In 2016, expansions were announced to the Dumoine River protected area, brining the total area with protection to 1776 sq. km. CPAWS Ottawa Valley continues to work to have the current interim protection upgraded to full protection and to ensure that the current proposals for the Noire and Coulonge River watersheds are expanded to fully protect the rich biodiversity of this region. 

In January 2013, CPAWS Ottawa Valley appeared before the Bureau des Audiences Publiques sur l’Environnement (BAPE) to present our vision for the Dumoine watershed as part of a series of public consultations on protected areas in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec. You can read our entire submission (in French only) in the resources tab.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

To learn more, become involved or help protect the rivers, please contact us at (819) 778-3355 or gleblanc@cpaws.org  

Visiting the Coulonge, Dumoine, or Noire Rivers? Read our brochure about responsible use of rivers to help safeguard our natural spaces.

Been on the river lately? Taken pictures or video? Interest in sharing them with CPAWS-OV? We are always in need of high-quality imagery of the watershed and would value any contribution. Please contact us to discuss this opportunity.

Noire and Coulonge Rivers

Description

The Noire and Coulonge Rivers are both found in the Pontiac MRC in the Outaouais region of Quebec. They are neighbouring rivers, tributaries of the north shore of the Ottawa River.

The Noire is a 238 km long river that originates at Lake Saint-Pierre north of Lac-Nilgaut and flows towards Waltham, west of Fort-Coulonge. With an average elevation of about 180 metres, this watercourse has a surface area of 2,647 km² and an average flow of 37.53 m³/s.

The watershed of the Noire river is home to a 55 hectares rare forest, the Méandres-de-la-Rivière-Noire, located near Lake Saint-Patrice. This forest is composed of black ash with American elm and pure elm trees.

The Coulonge River originates in the La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve and flows 250 km from north to south, crossing the municipality of Mansfield-et-Pontefract and Fort-Coulonge. Its average flow is 74.6 km² and its surface area is 5228.6 km². Also, this river flows through the imposing Coulonge Falls located north of Fort-Coulonge, having a height of 48 m and a gorge of 750 m.

Toponomy

The Noire River takes its name from the very dark colour of its water. In some places, it is even said to be as dark as tea. The Coulonge River, however, takes its name from the family of Ailleboust de Coulonge. Ailleboust and his children used the river for more than a century for the fur trade.

Ecological Value

The Noire and Coulonge Rivers are important in the Outaouais’s conservation landscape because they create an ecological corridor linking the Ottawa River to the boreal forest. This connection is critical to allow species to migrate north to adapt to climate change.

These rivers shelter rich biodiversity with many rare or endangered species, both animals and plants. Namely, there have been reports of black maple, hackberry, two-tone oak, Thomas elm and hard pine, wild leek, sprawling aster and American water-willow. Other species of interest which have been found in the area are painted turtle, snapping turtle and the wood turtle. It is also a possible habitat for the endangered Eastern Wolf (Canis sp. cf. lycaon).

Dumoine River

Description

The Dumoine River is approximately 140 km in length, and it flows from north to sough to enter the Ottawa River. It is located in the heart of the biodiversity-rich Laurentian mixed forest. Near the river, there is even an old-growth forest with 190 years-old white pine trees that reach up to 38 meters.  

The river also creates a natural boundary between the Pontiac and Temiscamingue MRC.

History

Several centuries ago, the ancestral families of Algonquin communities lived on the shores of the Dumoine Lake. They benefited from the natural resources offered by the river and used it for their travel. It was in 1730, that the French established the first trading post on its shore, the Fort Du Moine. The post was a key point for the fur trade in the Ottawa Valley. As for them, the first lumberjack camps and the forest industry were established throughout the beginning of the 19^th century, leading to the famously known log drive.

Status

Currently, large parts of the Dumoine River and some area of its watershed, for a total of 1778 km², are protected by a Proposed Aquatic Reserve status.

In this Proposed Aquatic Reserve, you can hunt, fish, ride ATVs or practice whitewater paddling. However, industrial development (logging, mining or hydroelectric damming) is not permitted.

Did you know?

91 archaeological sites have been discovered on the shores of the Dumoine River. The excavation of one of them, in 2002, revelled human presence dating back to at least 3000 years.

The Dumoine River is one of the last undammed rivers in southern Quebec.

The Dumoine is…

• The last undammed wild river in southern Quebec.
• The largest area of unfragmented southern boreal forest in Quebec
• A renowned wilderness paddling destination
• A continentally significant wildlife corridor, protecting a critical link from La Vérendrye wildlife reserve in the north to Algonquin Park, which in turn links to Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) corridor to the Appalachian Mountains to the south.
• An opportunity to diversify the economy of rural western Quebec still suffering from the effects of the crash of the forestry industry.

The opportunity to create a large protected area in this basin exists under the Quebec Protected Areas Strategy (SQAP). The Ottawa Valley chapter of CPAWS has concrete goals for long-term protection of the Dumoine River and its expertise is based on field work experience and strong land protection in western Quebec and Eastern Ontario. The protection of Dumoine is a priority for CPAWS.

Project establishing a new protected area in the Pontiac region

The Outaouais is coming together to achieve 17%: plan to create a protected area in the Noire and Coulonge Rivers watersheds

Since October 2019, CPAWS Ottawa Valley and CREDDO have been conducting project planning activities towards creating a 115,000 hectares protected area in the watersheds of the Noire and Coulonge Rivers (MRC Pontiac) as part of a Quebec government undertaking.

Expected results:

Beyond providing protection for the lush wilderness of the Pontiac, this project will contribute to the area’s economic diversification by allowing, for instance, the development of recreational tourism in the Noire and Coulonge Rivers watersheds. This less-known area of the Outaouais, with its beautiful landscapes, is perfect for white water rafting. It is also very well suited for hunting, fishing and cottaging.

The Outaouais can do more

The main objective of this project is to organize and conduct planning activities as part of an active approach to create a protected area by the Quebec Government.

The proposal put forward by CREDDO and CPAWS-OV would ensure permanent legal status to a protected area of more than 115,000 hectares in the Noire and Coulonge Rivers watersheds.

Furthermore, additional outcomes are anticipated:

• Preserving ecosystem services

• Increasing ecological connectivity

• Working towards reconciliation with the Indigenous communities

• Improving resilience to climate change

• Encouraging the development of eco-friendly recreational tourism

• Protecting more wetlands and waterways in the region

Take Our Survey:

Notice to the people in the recreational tourism sector, municipalities and economic development organizations in Pontiac:

Show us your interest in participating in this protected area project by answering this short survey we’ve prepared for you. Click here to participate!

Interested in volunteering? Want to ask a question or share your ideas?

Geneviève Le Blanc, CPAWS-OV

Conservation Director

T: 819-778-3355 Ext. 221
E: gleblanc@cpaws.org

Nathalie Magnan, CREDDO

Project coordinator in sustainable management of natural environments

T: 819-772-4925 Ext. 229
E: nathalie.magnan@creddo.ca

Resources:

• Press Release
• Project Summary (Coming Soon!)
• Project Description (Coming Soon!)
• External Resources

In addition to the contribution offered by the Government of Canada, this project is made possible thanks to the support of countless partners. We thank them wholeheartedly.

_______________________________________________________________

Why protect the Noire and Coulonge?

This project will protect 115,000 hectares in the Outaouais region in southwestern Québec by 2023. The Ottawa Valley has some of the most intact landscapes in southern Quebec and presents a rare opportunity for protecting underrepresented ecosystems and connecting southern protected areas to boreal forests. In the next few years, intensification of industrial activities, such as logging, mining and energy development, is expected to put a significant strain on the last biodiversity refuges of the OV watershed.

Project description

The Outaouais region can support a well-connected network of protected areas and the social and economic development of local Indigenous communities, industries and citizens. CPAWS-OV will work with Algonquins, NGOs, experts and governments to increase protected areas in Southwestern Québec through the conservation of the Noire & Coulonge Rivers and their watershed.

Our project will facilitate the sustainable management of Quebec`s public forest and the protection of rare old-growth forests and species at risk such as the Sunapee trout (Salvelinus alpinus oquassa) and the Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta).  

Our work

Protecting the Noire and Coulonge Rivers and their watershed is our main conservation project for the next 2-3 years.

There is currently a moratorium on industrial activities, and the provincial government is moving towards creating a Planned Biodiversity Reserve (PBR), a temporary protected area.

Our goals are to:

• Improve the design of the PBR since the current one is not optimal for conservation, being too narrow and not allowing for significant connectivity between the two rivers; and
• Ensure full and permanent protection of the area.

To attain our objectives, we intend to collaborate with First Nations communities and stakeholders such as municipalities, governmental agencies, and industry (logging).  

Next steps:

Starting in 2020: we aim to start collecting more data about the Noire and Coulonge Watersheds working in collaboration with Kitigan Zibi and other partners.

Help us protect the last wild rivers of the Ottawa Valley. Become a partner of the Three Rivers Fund today by making a special contribution.

At the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Ottawa Valley chapter (CPAWS-OV) we are committed to preserving our wilderness habitats to ensure that they remain healthy, protect endangered species and are available for us all to enjoy for generations to come.

Over the past decade, CPAWS-OV has been working extensively in western Quebec in the watersheds of the Coulonge, Noire and Dumoine rivers to enhance protections. These watersheds are among the last wild and intact watersheds anywhere in southern Canada. Our vision for western Quebec is bold and inspiring – an interconnected network of protected areas centered around the Dumoine, Noire and Coulonge watersheds that fully protect the richness of the landscape, that provide connections between the forests of the Ottawa Valley and the Boreal forest to the north and that provide meaningful jobs and investment to local communities based on ecotourism and sustainable development.

We have successfully lobbied to secure near permanent protected status for the Dumoine river watershed while the Noire and Coulonge river watersheds are entering into interim protected status.  These are wonderful achievements and together with your support, we can achieve even more.

In the spring of 2019, CPAWS-OV launched the Three Rivers Fund, a new fund specifically supporting work in the Dumoine, Noire and Coulonge river watersheds.  More than engaging companies, organizations and their customers and clients to support our work, this fund is a partnership – where corporate and NGO (non-governmental organization) fund supporters will have a say in which projects CPAWS-OV takes on and may even participate in carrying out that work. Additionally, approximately 50% of annual Three Rivers Fund revenues will go towards tangible projects on-site.  Projects such as campground cleanups, scientific surveys and trail planning.

To learn more about the Three Rivers Fund and how to participate, please contact Sabrina Howe, Donor Development Coordinator at showe@cpaws.org or 819-778-3355.

Three Rivers Fund Reports:

• 2019
• 2020

Thank you to our amazing 2021 supporters!

White Pine

 

 

 

Red Pine

Dumoine River Hiking Trail Restoration

CPAWS Ottawa Valley is proud to support the Friends of Dumoine River and Zec Dumoine in restoring a historic hiking trail along the west shore of the Dumoine River. Once fully restored, this 32 km trail will take hikers from Grande Chute in the north to the Ottawa River in the south, by way of portage trails that have been in constant use for thousands of years and by following former segments of a wagon road developed in the mid 19^th century to supply logging camps along the river. Our mission goes beyond simply protecting landscapes like the Dumoine River, but also includes connecting people to nature through education programs and by supporting initiatives that improve access to natural areas where appropriate.

In 2019, CPAWS-OV volunteers completed the restoration of a one-kilometer segment of trail running south from the foot of Grande Chute to Robinson Lake as a first step. This included re-routing the original trail to avoid problematic areas and, in 2020 as part of the Canadian Wilderness Stewardship Program, a team of youth constructed a new footbridge across a small stream. In 2020, thanks to a grant from the Hydro-Québec’s foundation for the environment (Fondation Hydro-Québec pour l’environnement), we installed a series of 15 education panels along this one-kilometer section of trail to introduce hikers to the natural history of the Dumoine watershed.

In 2020, our volunteers worked closely with Friends of Dumoine River to explore a further segment of trail running south from Robinson Lake to Red Pine Rapids. We successfully identified a suitable route, following an abandoned logging road and then veering into mature mixed woods before joining the historic Red Pine Rapids portage trail. From here, the trail heads south, following the portage and along the top of an esker for approximately one kilometer. Combined with the work completed in 2019, the trail now extends approximately 10 km from the top of Grande Chute to below Red Pine Rapids.

While we were working from the north, other volunteers were clearing trail from the south and there is now a segment of trail also in place starting at the confluence of the Dumoine and Ottawa Rivers running to another spectacular set of rapids – Ryan’s Chute. In the next years, we will work to join the two segments and establish a crossing of the Fildegrand River – a major western tributary of the Dumoine River.

Get Involved!

If you would like to help us complete this project, please contact us at ov-outreach@cpaws.org. We expect to be organizing work bees in the summer and fall of 2021. All CPAWS-OV events, including volunteer opportunities, are COVID-19 dependent and we reserve the right to cancel or postpone events if the risk is deemed unacceptable.

You can also support the project by making a financial contribution of any amount. To learn more or to make a donation, please contact Sabrina Howe at showe@cpaws.org.

We would like to thank our sponsors: 

Fondation de la faune du Québec

Fondation Hydro-Québec pour l’environnement

Unité régionale de loisir et de sport de l’Outaouais

Hobin Architectural

Zec Dumoine

Dumoine River Rod and Gun Club

Friends of the Dumoine River

Dumoine River Art for Wilderness Retreat (DRAW)

July 30th to August 6th 2024

Richard Rapids – Dumoine River

Dumoine River Projected Aquatic Reserve

“I can’t conceive of anything being more varied, rich and handsome than planet earth; its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it … then put it together and express it in my painting.” – Robert Bateman

Join CPAWS Ottawa Valley along the shores of our region’s last wild river – the Dumoine, where, immersed in nature you will be free to explore, discover and create!

The Dumoine Art for Wilderness Retreat, or DRAW, is an annual artist residency program in support of the ongoing protection of the Dumoine River and its sister rivers, the Noire and the Coulonge, also known as the Three Rivers.

Every year, for a week in early August, 15 to 20 artists representing a range of artistic expression come together in the Robinson Lake – Grande Chute area of the Dumoine watershed to learn about conservation, take part in stewardship work and to be inspired by the rich natural beauty of the area to create artwork that at once supports CPAWS-OV’s conservation work, but more importantly, helps raise much needed awareness of the importance of parks and protected areas in halting and reversing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Artists selected for this retreat are at all stages of their careers and work in all media, including drawing, painting (oil, acrylic, watercolour), photography, sculpture, pottery, weaving and fabric arts, dramatic arts, music, film, video, new media, installation, fiction and nonfiction writing, and poetry. Everyone is welcome to apply!

“DRAW is a unique event that allows CPAWS-OV to connect diverse communities to the Dumoine River, including communities that would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the area all while raising much needed awareness and funding”

– John McDonnell, Executive Director, CPAWS-OV.

How does it work?

Participating artists agree to donate one finished, ready to display or otherwise be enjoyed, piece of art for CPAWS-OV to auction in support of the organization’s Three Rivers Fund. We also ask everyone who takes part to become informal ambassadors for CPAWS-OV and the Three Rivers Fund, by sharing social media posts and information about these initiatives to their clients and supporters. We also ask all participants to help cover the costs of food and supplies by making a financial contribution of $150.00 to $200.00.

CPAWS-OV takes care of most of the logistics of the event. We will secure a campsite for the group and we will coordinate transportation from the town of Rapides-des-Joachims (Swisha) to the campsite and back. Everyone will be camping in tents with limited facilities available – there is no running water or showers, electricity, or cell / internet service. You are immersed in wilderness! CPAWS-OV volunteers will take care of planning and preparing meals and we will organize side trips, including hikes and paddles to points of interest along the river. You can also help us restore a hiking trail, take part in clean-ups or help to collect data on the plants and wildlife of the area in support of our broader conservation goals.

What does a typical day look like?

DRAW is intended to be an opportunity to unplug from our busy lives where artists can focus exclusively on being creative. There is no schedule, you are free to organize your own time, self-organize with others and create at your own pace. At the end of the day, we will gather around the campfire to share experiences from the day, socialize and, of course, share our art!

How do I apply?

The current application deadline is May 22nd, 2024. Those selected to attend will be required to follow all health and safety guidelines in place at the time of the retreat. 

To apply, please answer the following questions and email your application to CPAWS-OV at the email address listed below. We will confirm successful applicants in mid to late June.

• Tell us about your artistic background, your current work, and how your current work relates to nature connection and conservation. More specifically, how does your creative process serve as a way of building sensitivity, respect, or care for nature, and an understanding of our human connection to the natural world?
• How do you intend for your time at DRAW to help you deepen or further explore the process of nature connection through art?
• How might you help raise awareness of CPAWS Ottawa Valley, the Dumoine River and conservation more generally within your community? How will you become an ambassador for the Dumoine? What would you need from us?
• Explain how you will produce your artistic work in our wilderness setting or on the surrounding land safely, cleanly, and without destruction/disturbance to the natural environment.
• Is there anything else you would like to share about you and/or your art?
• Please attach three examples of your work as PDF files (with your name in the file name) or website links.
• Provide your contact information (name, address, phone, email, website and relevant social media accounts),
• Please confirm if you can make a financial contribution of $150.00 -$200.00 in support of the camp (for food and supplies).
• Please limit your application to 2-3 pages.
• Email your application, as a PDF document, to CPAWS-OV at ov-outreach@cpaws.org by May 22nd, 2024, with “DRAW 2024 Application” as the subject.

The application process

A panel comprised of CPAWS-OV volunteers and staff as well as DRAW alumni will carefully review each application and make a selection that reflects diversity of expression, diversity of media as well as demographic and regional diversity (young and/or emerging artists as well as established artists and artists from different areas, with priority being given to artists from the Pontiac or Témiscamigue areas of Québec).

Other References

• Get your copy of DRAW 2017, a book commemorating the first Dumoine River at for Wilderness retreat. Funds raised will help support ongoing efforts to protect the Dumoine, Noire and Coulonge rivers. 
• View the 2018 DRAW Retreat video here 
• Meet Our 2020 Artists

Testimonials from participants

“The Dumoine puts the “wild” into the plein air painting of wilderness – fully immersed in the beauty of Canada – with nothing between you and nature as it should be”

– Phil Chadwick.

“I am happiest in the wild. Shinrin yoku is Japanese for the concept of “forest bathing” – that spiritual renewal we can receive amid Nature. The undammed Dumoine restores my wild heart because, as it plunges and meanders through rapids and stillwater, coursing alongside quiet forests and redefining its sandy beaches, I discover synchronicity and peace in Nature’s eternal rhythms. DRAW allows me to capture my feelings born from the magic and mystery of this precious watershed”

– Katharine Fletcher.

“Etched in my mind as a favourite ‘go-to’ memory, I love going back there, no matter the season and am reminded that all is possible. It is what drives me through a creative block. There was such power in exploring the untouched wilderness”

– Tina Michaud.

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support.

Dumoine Rod and Gun Club

MRC Pontiac

Municipality of Rapides-des-Joachims

RESOURCES

• View a GIS map of the area [PDF]
• CPAWS recommendations – Dumoine River  [PDF](French only)
• Brief submitted by CPAWS-OV regarding the regional consultation on protected areas in the Outaouais [PDF] (French Only)