The Zec de la Bessonne is a "

zone d'exploitation contrôlée A ''zone d'exploitation contrôlée'' (in French; acronym ZEC) is a "Controlled harvesting zone" located in public lands areas of Quebec, in Canada. ZECs are a system of territorial infrastructures set up in 1978 by the Government of Quebec to take ...

" (controlled harvesting area) (ZEC) near

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

in administrative region of

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

, in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. A territory of was assigned in 1978 to the Zec. The Zec is managed by the Association Épervier de La Tuque inc (Association Hawk of La Tuque inc). It takes its name from a former private hunting club which was abolished upon creating the Zec.

Geography

Zec de la Bessonne is a land of , located in

, in

La Tuque (urban agglomeration) La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord, Quebec, Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the Population c ...

. Its territory is shared by the city of La Tuque and municipalities

La Bostonnais, Quebec La Bostonnais is a municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. The community is about north of La Tuque's town centre along Quebec Route 155. The municipality takes its name from the nearby Bostonnais and Little B ...

and Lac-Edouard. It is bordered to the east by the Zec Jeannotte, Québec and

Portneuf Wildlife Reserve The Portneuf Wildlife Reserve is located in the province of Quebec (Canada), in the western part of the Capitale-Nationale region. This wildlife reserve is administered by SEPAQ. See also * Island of the Cross (Quebec) * Jeannotte River * Batis ...

, and to the south by

Zec Tawachiche The zec Tawachiche is a ''zone d'exploitation contrôlée'' (controlled harvesting zone) (zec) covering 318 km², of which 310 km² are located in Mékinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. ...

. It is located at east of downtown La Tuque. The territory is crossed by six rivers, including the

Little Bostonnais River The Little Bostonnais river flows westbound in the city of La Tuque, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Geography From the mouth of Little Wayagamac Lake, Little Bostonnais River runs on 4.4 km (measured on water) before emptying into the ...

, the

Jeannotte River Jeannotte River is a river that rises in Lac Édouard in the municipality of Lac-Édouard in Haute-Mauricie, agglomerated with the city of La Tuque since 2003, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The hea ...

and

Rivière du milieu (Mékinac) The Rivière du Milieu (River of the middle) (popularly named "River pike”) flows southward in the unorganized territory of Lac-Masketsi, in the Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. The economy of this sec ...

. Zec includes 281 lakes, including

Lake Wayagamac The Wayagamac Lake is located in the city of La Tuque in La Tuque (census division), in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Until 2006, the territory of the lake was part of the former unorganized territory of Petit-Lac-Wayagamac (Little Wayagamac Lake ...

, which provides drinking water to the city of La Tuque.

Land protection

Zec de la Bessonne is not a protected area recognized by the

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, like all other ZECs; forestry and mining are allowed. However, the island "Steamboat" is recognized as a

heronry A heronry, sometimes called a heron rookery, is a breeding ground for herons. Notable heronries Although their breeding territories are often on more protected small islands in lakes or retention ponds, herons breed in heronries (or also called ...

and

bird colony A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting bir ...

, and is located in the center of Lake Wayagamac.

Toponymy

The term "Bessonne" identifying a river, two lakes, one island, a dam and a zec (controlled harvesting zone) are related. These toponyms derivate from the name of the river. The toponym "Zec de la Bessonne" was officialized on August 5, 1982 at the Bank of Names Places of

Commission de toponymie du Québec The Commission de toponymie du Québec (English: ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicize Québec's place names and their origins according ...

(Geographical Names Places of Quebec).Commission de toponymmie du Québec (Geographical Names Places of Quebec) - Bank of places names - Toponym: zec de la Bessonne
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bessonne, ZEC Protected areas of Mauricie Geography of La Tuque, Quebec