Réserve faunique de Portneuf

Land-Use and Integrated Management

General presentation

Natural resource management on the territory of Réserve faunique de Portneuf is a responsibility of the government, more specifically of the Ministère de la Forêt, de la Faune et des Parcs (ministry of forests, wildlife, and parks, or MFFP) and the Ministère de l’Énergie et des ressources naturelles (ministry of energy and natural resources, or MERN). Given the specific nature of wildlife reserves, they were given a “multiple modulated" vocation under the government’s Plans d’affectation du territoire public régionaux (regional public land use plans, or RPLUP), a vocation defined as the “multipurpose use of land and resources, with procedures or rules adapted to specific environmental, landscape, cultural, social, or economic conditions” (our translation). In other words, the management and use of natural resources, including forests and wildlife, must be carried out in an integrated manner by the government, i.e. taking into account all resources on the territory as well as the legal vocation of conserving and showcasing the fauna of the wildlife reserve.

In this regard, the forest of Réserve faunique de Portneuf is exploited by designated holders of timber supply guarantees (DHTSG), i.e. forestry companies having a harvest agreement with the MFFP, based on forestry planning under the auspices of the MFFP since April 1, 2013. The Ministère is now in charge of developing tactical and operational integrated forest management plans (IFMP) at the scale of each management unit, taking into consideration, in particular, the allowable cut calculation carried out by the Chief Forester, work from local integrated resources tables and territory management tables (LIRTMT), the orientations and objectives pursued by the Government to the Regional Public Land Use Plans (PATP), the objectives of sustainable forest management as set out in the Law Sustainable Forest Management (LADTF), as well as the sustainable forest development objectives stipulated in the Sustainable Forest Development Act (SFDA). In the wake of this exercise, discussions are underway involving Sépaq, the MFFP, and representatives of forestry companies (DHTSG) aimed at integrating into forestry planning and interventions various measures or procedures designed to minimize conflicts of use and impacts on the wildlife and landscape, as well as on the environment in which recreational and wildlife-related activities are carried out in wildlife reserves.

In order to equip wildlife reserve managers in terms of integrated wildlife-forest-recreation forestry management and to guide the MFFP in harmonizing forestry planning for these unique territories so that the different types of forestry interventions are more predictable, better adapted, and more likely to help fulfil the particular vocation of wildlife reserves, Sépaq has carried out a number of so-called IRM (integrated resource management) projects.

Consult the list of completed projects (in French only)

Specific land-uses

Réserve faunique de Portneuf is continuing research and experimentation on wildlife and habitats. Development of spawning grounds for speckled trout, monitoring of species and population control,  integrated management of wildlife, mining and forest resources, and Ruffed Grouse and Wood Duck management are central to development projects for Réserve faunique de Portneuf.

Fishing

• Development and maintenance of spawning grounds to optimize the number of speckled trout
• A study on the impact of fish stocking on the genetics of native speckled trout populations (fertility, lake productivity, resistance to natural impacts). Conducted on some twenty bodies of water, this study is being done in partnership with Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs (MDDEFP) and Sépaq.
• Splake (hybrid speckled trout, lake trout) and wendigo (lake trout, speckled trout) are being studied in collaboration with the MDDEFP. The aim is to gather information about the downstream migration of this species, their feeding habits and their habitat. These trout have been introduced into a dozen lakes colonized by undesirable species, which had eliminated speckled trout. Splake and its cousin, wendigo, feed on so-called undesirable species, but they cohabit very peacefully with speckled trout and lake trout.

Hunting

Ruffed Grouse:

In the Lac des Aulnes sector, a 20-year development plan aims to favour Ruffed Grouse by developing the forest in such a way as to provide them with areas for drumming, breeding, feeding and wintering. This plan is being done in collaboration with the forestry industry (COGEFOR Inc.), the MDDEFP and the Ruffed Grouse Association.

Moose:

An inventory was taken in the winter of 2008-2009.