Two years in, a partnership of the Québec Ecological Corridors Initiative and Center for Large Landscape Conservation is creating durable solutions for corridor management and monitoring
Across deciduous and evergreen forests, lakes, streams and wetlands, working farms and timber lands, Québec, Canada is enormously rich in ecological diversity. However, pressures from people—residential and commercial development, climate change, and pollution—increasingly threaten the biodiversity that depends on intact habitats. Black bears and eastern wolves need wide swaths of land in their home ranges to find food and mates, wood turtles rely on unfragmented corridors to safely reach water sources, and migratory birds need stepping stones of habitat for their seasonal movements.
While habitat fragmentation is a constant risk, ecological connectivity may be the antidote: the “unimpeded movement of species, connection of habitats without hindrance and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth.” Ecological corridors, as the physical spaces which sustain connectivity for living beings as they traverse from one core habitat to another, are thus a key conservation strategy now being used in Québec for upholding long-term ecological health.
Building partnerships for corridors
Since April 2023, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) has been working alongside the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and partners of the Québec Ecological Corridors Initiative (QECI) to advance planning and implementation of ecological corridors across the province.
This partnership is a natural fit. By working together, CLLC, NCC, and three local NGOs as a cohort for this pilot project saw the dual opportunity to bolster long-standing efforts of the QECI to designate formalized corridors in a stakeholder-led, collaborative manner, while simultaneously implementing the IUCN Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors. These Guidelines were published in 2020 by the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group, for which CLLC serves as Secretariat, and has since been used to guide corridor planning in Romania, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and now Québec. This effort is the most comprehensive and collaborative application of the IUCN Guidelines since their publication.
Within the QECI, ecological corridors have varying objectives, rightsholders and stakeholders, and kinds of data available. QECI was launched in 2017 by NCC to accelerate learning and action among many local groups interested in conserving corridors throughout the province. The group offers a collective approach to land use planning and advises provincial and municipal governments, woodlot owners, farmers, and other key stakeholders. The group also carries out mobilization, capacity building, recognition, and support activities throughout southern Québec.
Within the scope of the CLLC-QECI partnership, three pilot corridors were identified to undertake collaborative planning towards creation of management and monitoring plans: Mauricie, Plaisance-to-Tremblant, and Oka-to-Tremblant. These plans will detail the specific actions landowners and managers should take to maintain or restore connectivity: everything from removing barbed-wire fencing to allow free passage of wildlife to restoring streambank vegetation to improve riparian habitat.
- The Mauricie Corridor links Mauricie National Park with other intact habitats in south-central Québec along the Saint Lawrence River, a complex mosaic of public, private, and developed land crisscrossed by wetlands and forests rich with species from wolves and bears to turtles and salamanders. This project is led by Environnement Mauricie.
- The Plaisance-to-Tremblant Corridor traverses the Laurentians from Mont Tremblant National Park to Plaisance National Park — an expanse of land dotted with agriculture, timber, smaller protected areas, and popular with recreationists. This project is lead by Le Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO) and Éco-corridors laurentiens.
- The Oka-to-Tremblant Corridor, also located in the Laurentians, seeks to link Oka National Park to Tremblant National Park. This project is led by Éco-corridors laurentiens.
In all three corridors, a two-phase approach is being taken. In Phase 1, local NGO and regional partners are hosting workshops with a broad swath of stakeholders to gather input on the corridor’s objectives, values, threats, and governance. (To see an example, peruse this connectivity plan from Mauricie). Phase 2 focuses on specific management actions to achieve the corridors’ objectives, and monitoring schemes to track certain indicators of progress.
Policy mandates for improved connectivity
The timing of this project is serendipitous. In December, 2024, new Guidelines for Spatial Planning of the gouvernement du Québec (Orientations gouvernementales en aménagement du territoire, OGAT) came into effect which strengthen the policy mandate to identify ecological corridors and compatible uses in regional land use plans.
Under the terms of the updated OGAT, regional governments are expected to identify and manage for ecological corridors based on ecological importance and factors such as forest cover. Land use plans are also required to stipulate “compatible uses” — ways that people can use the land without hindering ecological connectivity. ” Additionally, counties are invited to “promote the creation of wildlife passages (aquatic and terrestrial)” when repairing or constructing new roads.
As updated land use plans are written and reviewed, now is the opportunity for ecological corridors to take center stage in meeting conservation objectives. Co-produced management and monitoring plans are coming to life throughout the Québec Ecological Corridors Initiative just as the policy environment is most ripe for turning collaborative ideals into enforceable action.
Meanwhile, a toolbox for the counties and municipalities is currently being updated. It presents a range of tools that enable counties and municipalities to plan for ecological connectivity. It also includes examples of municipalities and regional county municipalities (MRCs) that have utilized some of these measures. Local NGOs who form the QECI are also active in the field supporting MRCs in integrating connectivity considerations.
As the Québec Ecological Corridors Initiative and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation continue their work, the progress made over the past two years is laying a strong foundation for long-term ecological connectivity. With new policy mandates supporting corridor identification, management, and monitoring there is a valuable opportunity to integrate conservation goals into regional planning. Momentum at this provincial scale is complemented by the Canadian federal government. Across the country, Parks Canada is providing funding and scientific capacity through the National Program for Ecological Corridors.
By combining scientific inputs, stakeholder collaboration, and policy frameworks, this partnership is helping to establish practical approaches for maintaining, enhancing, and restoring connectivity across Québec’s landscapes. These efforts also serve as a replicable model for other regions in Canada and around the world, demonstrating how coordinated planning can support both biodiversity and sustainable land use. The next steps will focus on refining management and monitoring plans to ensure these strategies remain effective over time.
Top photo: American Marten. Credit: NPS/Jacob W. Frank
