JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
The Town of St. Lazare marked an “important milestone” in its environmental conservation efforts last week, as council adopted a plan that aims to conserve 30 per cent of its territory as natural spaces by 2030 – an objective that aligns with the target set by the United Nations in 2022.
Describing the move as “essential to protecting what makes St. Lazare such a special place,” Mayor Geneviève Lachance said: “I have to admit that this goal is ambitious. But with steady, concrete actions like this, we will move toward our 30-per-cent goal.”
The town’s 2025-2030 Conservation Action Plan approved May 13 includes details and statistics on the town’s ecological makeup as well as recommendations on preservation. It will serve as the guide to reach the objective set at COP15, the UN’s Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal in 2022.
Lachance said the town’s 2025-2030 Conservation Action Plan includes 34 recommendations that will help it meet this conservation goal.
These measures include zoning all municipally owned natural areas as under “conservation” by 2030; identifying high-value natural areas on private land and working with landowners to protect them through agreements or acquisitions; and strengthening regulations around new developments to protect sensitive ecosystems, Lachance said in an email in response to questions from The 1019 Report.
Although the plan was officially approved by council May 13, town officials refused to provide a copy of document. They will officially release the details at a public meeting Thursday, June 5.
Currently, only 3 per cent of St. Lazare’s total territory is under “conservation zoning.” However, Lachance explained that this “doesn’t reflect the full picture.”
“Many other areas are already protected through different legal tools,” she said, explaining that these tracts of land are not included in that calculation.
Lachance also guaranteed that the local wetlands, making up around 8 per cent of the total territory, would be preserved in perpetuity. She pointed out that the town has existing bylaws to “make it basically impossible to build in wetlands,” including bans on digging out or draining these ecosystems and requiring a minimum 10-metre buffer zone for future developments of lots that are larger than 3,000 square metres.
Wetlands – which include marshes, swamps and peat bogs – act as a natural flood control, absorbing heavy rainwater and snow thaws. They are also essential for carbon sequestration, absorbing an estimated 8 billion to 10 billion tonnes of carbon per year in Quebec alone. These ecosystems also support a wide variety of flora and fauna, providing natural habitats and sources of food.
Lachance said it the plan is the product of seven years of work by volunteers on the town’s environmental and urban advisory committees.