Atlas of Sites of Conservation Interest in the St. Lawrence Lowlands – Methodology Report version 2, including Outaouais region

 Abstract

One of the projects under the biodiversity conservation theme of the St. Lawrence Action Plan is the development of an integrated plan for conserving the St. Lawrence’s natural environments and biodiversity. Identifying sites of interest for biodiversity conservation was the first step in this integrated planning process leading to the production of the Atlas of sites of interest for conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Conservation targets (coarse filter) selected for this atlas are woodlands, wetlands, open habitats (old fields, perennial crops), and aquatic environments. This report presents the methods that led to the production of this atlas.

For each selected target, sites of interest for conservation were determined up to a representativeness threshold of 20% for a given spatial reference unit (i.e., depositional contexts in the St. Lawrence Lowlands). To do so, sites with high conservation interest were first selected, those sites being located within or adjacent to protected areas or exceptional forested ecosystems, sites hosting species at risk and critical habitats, or those having unique ecological features. A prioritization analysis was then carried out on conservation targets using a multi-criteria analysis when the 20% representativeness threshold was not reached following the selection analysis. Other sites of interest not covered with the coarse filter targets and representing local sites with high conservation value were also determined (fine filter), such as rare aquatic environments of the St. Lawrence River (spawning sites), alvars, colonial bird nesting sites, other faunistic sites (e.g., nesting sites for Bank Swallow and Chimney Swift, etc.) and important floristic sites. Finally, a multitarget analysis was performed to determined regions with high concentration of sites of interest for multiple targets.

Geospatial data of selected sites are publicly available. This will allow users to better visualize the geographical location of those sites of interest for conservation and their associated conservation value. Users will also have the opportunity to adapt the determination of sites of high conservation value given their own spatial territory and conservation objectives.

Because the conservation of sites with high biodiversity value is a shared responsibility; this atlas will reach objectives of several conservation organizations and stakeholders having a strong interest in the conservation of natural sites in the St. Lawrence Lowlands; such as non-governmental organizations, municipalities, MRCs, governments and academic institutions. In addition, because this atlas is intended to be a tool in landscape and land-use planning, we believe that upcoming conservation strategies for natural sites can be oriented towards sites with high conservation value and where there exists urgent needs for conservation using the information provided by this atlas. For example, this atlas could guide the production of regional wetlands and bodies of water plans that will be produced in coming years following the recently adopted Act respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water.

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