Irénée-Marie Ecological Reserve (French: ''Réserve écologique Irénée-Marie'') is an

ecological reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the unorganized territory of Rivière-de-la-Savane, in Mékinac Regional County Municipality, in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was established on October 31, 1985. The

Ecological Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

protects a forest of

Eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada, west through the Great Lake ...

red pine ''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to Eastern North America. Description Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in heigh ...

and pine gray.

Toponymy

The name commemorates Joseph Caron (1889-1960), better known as Brother Irénée-Marie of the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

, one of the colleagues of brother Marie-Victorin.

Geography

The reserve is located approximately west of Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac, in the Matawin River

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, and surrounded by the ZEC Chapeau de Paille. It has an area of and is located north-east of Arcand lake and on either side of the des Aigles river. The elevation of the reserve varies between on the edge Arcand Lake up to . It is generally formed by rocky slopes and a flat zone.

History

In 1978, private clubs for hunting and fishing were abolished and replaced by zones d'exploitation contrôlée (harvested controlled zones) with the objective to democratise their activities. Consequently, the territory of the reserve was transferred to zec du Chapeau-de-Paille. The Irenée-Marie ecological reserve was created on October 31, 1985 by a decree of the Quebec Government. It was the 13th ecological reserve to be created in Quebec.

External links

References

Protected areas of Mauricie Nature reserves in Quebec Protected areas established in 1985 Mékinac Regional County Municipality 1985 establishments in Quebec {{Quebec-geo-stub