(February 18, 2014) The Ministry of Natural Resources has recently approved logging work in an area located at the north end of Lac Gagnon, west of Route 6 and north of Lac Robillard. The logging is already underway and should end before the spring thaw period. If you wish to see the exact location of this logging area on a map of the northern part of Lac Gagnon click here (PDF file 4.8 MB)

(June 22, 2012) In recent years, the APLG has negotiated agreements with logging operators to restrict logging activities around Lac Gagnon. These agreements expire next year. From 2013, the government, rather than the logging operators, will decide on the areas to be exploited. In our region, the organization charged with the task of consulting interested parties is the CRRNTO, a new agency. The APLG made representations to the CRRNTO that the government protect identified areas around Lac Gagnon from logging operations. Two areas around the lake were identified for logging: a limited area on the west side of the lake, between ch. du lac Gagnon Ouest and the mountain tops; and a large area between lakes Preston and Gagnon, which includes the "Route des Zingues" trail. Other interested parties also made representations against logging in these areas in the coming years. It is still too early to know whether these interventions will bear fruit. The APLG continues to monitor this issue.

(Updated October 7, 2012)  We are pleased to announce that as a result of representations made by the APLG, the Municipality and others, the Government is removing the logging activities that were projected around Lac Gagnon from the 2013-2014 development plan. The plan covered an area on the west side of Lac Gagnon and an area on the east side of the lake which includes the “Route des Zingues”. We will continue to be vigilant to protect our surrounding forests from logging.

Click here to see the map of potential logging over the next season in the Lac Lafontaine area.

M.C. forêt inc. has conducted logging operations during the winter of 2011 in an area east of Lac Lafontaine, but outside the area protected by the APLG agreement described below.  Consult the  map showing the territory covered and the types of cuts.  The proportion of trees harvested  was 30% in the areas identified as "coupe de jardinage" and "coupe de préjardinage", while the proportion was 70% in the areas identifeid as "coupe progressive d'ensemencement final".

The APLG reached its goal of protecting the outskirts of Lac Gagnon from logging until the end of the present 2008-2013 five year plan.  All the area within the line of the "zone de proximité", as shown on the map , will be totally protected from logging.

Due to a change in the policies of the Department of Natural Resources (MRNF) applicable to logging, our initial 2008 agreement with Lauzon Foresterie was likely to become useless.  As a result of further negotiations in 2010, we succeeded in getting all 12 foresters operating in our region to endorse our agreement.  In addition, the original agreement has been improved.  Some parcels which were slated to be logged, for example, between lakes Gagnon and and Bourgeois, are now protected (see the map #3 below). We have also better identified the trails to be protected.  Consult  map #2 to see which trails will get improved protection.  This map also shows which areas are in private hands.  It should remembered that the agreements deal only with public land and do not apply to private land.  These are identified on the map in beige.  In addition to land owned by vacationers these sectors include undeveloped land, west of ch. du lac Gagnon ouest, belonging to Lauzon Foresterie Fiducie.

In summary, all the periphery of Lac Gagnon made up of public land, up to the summit of the mountains, is protected until 2013.

The mayors' agreement applies to inhabited lakes, located in the municipalities of Duhamel, Boileau, Mulgrave-et-Derry, Montpellier, Lac Simon, Ripon, Val-des-Bois, Bowman and Lac-des-Plages.  For the purposes of this agreement a lake is considered inhabited if has five or more dwellings.  The inhabited lakes in Duhamel are: Lac Gagnon; Petit Lac Preston; Preston River; Petite-Nation River; Lac Iroquois; Lac Chevreuil; Lac Doré; and Lac Lafontaine. 

  The mayor's agreement, which expires in April 2013, can be summarized as follows:

• Full protection in a 20 meter band around inhabited lakes.
• Nearby inhabited lakes and in the case of strip or clear cutting, a spatial analysis, showing the visual impact on the landscape, will be performed. If this type of logging is the only appropriate treatment, both parties will agree annually on special methods of harvesting to reduce the visual impact of the logging.
• There will be no harvesting on very steep slopes (i.e. over 41%).
• The width of logging roads will be limited to 23 meters on average (presently 30 meters).  Cutting and pruning areas are excluded from this calculation.
• Maintain a 60 meter band around homes and clusters of homes: no harvesting in the first 30 meter band and only partial harvesting inthe second 30 meter band.
• Should there be new CAAF beneficiaries or forestry operators in the forestry management unit, they will have to abide by the agreement.
• The agreement does not supersede earlier agreements, or those to come, it does not reduce the scope of other agreements.
  
• The annual forest management plans and all subsequent changes will be submitted annually to the MRC which will forward them to the mayors of the affected municipalities for discussion. Affected municipalities will therefore be informed about the work, the schedule of operation, timber transportation and other changes during a season of operation, if applicable.
• Logging roads on public land maintained by the municipalities should be left at least in the same state after the operations than before the operations.  If this does not result in additional costs, CAAF beneficiaries will try to adapt the new roads to municipal needs.  In exceptional cases, upon the request of municipalities, areas used for stacking and loading will be cleaned and seeded with a "B mixture"  or other appropriate mixtures at the completion of the harvest.
• If applicable, the observation of plants which are rare, endangered, or vulnerable or likely to be vulnerable, should be transmitted to the MRNF.
  

Logging for the 2010 season

The APLG is concerned about the extent of logging activities in the area of Lake Gagnon.  The 2008-2013 five year plan submitted in 2007 by M.C. Forêt included logging activities covering many sectors very close to the shores of Lake Gagnon.  The APLG sought the intervention of government authorities to limit as much as possible these logging activities at lake Gagnon.  After long negotiations with M.C. Forêt and arbitration from the Quebec Department of Natural Resources, the APLG and "Lauzon planchers de bois exclusifs" (Lauzon), as represented by   M.C. Forêt, have reached the following agreement in 2008: