An Act Respecting the Conservation and Development of Wildlife
Under sections 128.1 to 128.15 of An Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife, it is prohibited to carry out work in a wildlife habitat designated under regulation without obtaining prior authorization from the ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec. More specifically, under section 128.6 of this act, “no person may, in a wildlife habitat, carry on an activity that may alter any biological, physical or chemical component peculiar to the habitat of the animal or fish concerned.” This act applies to wildlife habitats defined in the 1993 Regulation Respecting Wildlife Habitats and located on Crown land. These habitats are as follows: mapped habitats (e.g. muskrat habitat or a heronry); fish habitat or waterfowl gathering area (which are not mapped and generally correspond to a 0–2 years recurrence rate, or in the case of waterfowl to a floodplain or band of water that is frequented by geese or ducks during nesting or migration seasons); and the habitat of threatened or vulnerable species (as designated under the Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species).
The prohibition in section 128.6 does not apply to dredging activities that are subject to an environmental impact assessment and review under section 31.1 of the Environment Quality Act, unless the work is located in the habitat of a threatened or vulnerable species, as defined in section 47 of the Regulation Respecting Wildlife Habitats.
In order to encourage a single window for authorization requests, proponents can contact either the regional office of the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs, which processes applications under section 22 of the Environment Quality Act, or the ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec regarding applications under section 128.6 of An Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife.
For more information about An Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife, please contact the ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec or visit the website on this subject.
Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune
Service aux citoyens et aux entreprises
880 Sainte-Foy Road, RC 120-C
Quebec (Quebec) G1S 4X4
Telephone: 418-627-8600
Toll-free line: 1-866-248-6936, 1-866-CITOYEN
Fax: 418 644-6513
Email: service.citoyens@mrnf.gouv.qc.ca
Website: http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/faune