The Zec Normandie is a " zone d'exploitation contrôlée" (controlled harvesting zone) (ZEC) located in the unorganized territory of the

Lac-Bazinet Lac-Bazinet is an unorganized territory in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, and one of the two most northerly of eleven unorganized areas in the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality. See also * List of unorganized territories in ...

, in the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

, 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 ...

Geography

Located at the extreme northern region of

Laurentian mountains The Laurentian Mountains ( French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...

, the territory of the Zec Normandie covers an area of 1,018 km². The eastern boundary of the ZEC is about 70 km northwest of

Saint-Michel-des-Saints Saint-Michel-des-Saints is a municipality in the Matawinie Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. Agriculture, forestry, recreation, and tourism have been the main activities found within this region. History In 1863, Thomas-Léandre B ...

. More than 175 lakes have been identified in this vast territory whose Némiscachingue lake covering 17 square kilometers is the most important. In summary, the limitations of the ZEC are defined as: *on the west side, the

Zec Mitchinamecus The ZEC Mitchinamecus is a " zone d'exploitation contrôlée" (controlled harvesting zone) (ZEC) in the unorganized territory of Lac-De La Bidière, in the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Laurentides ...

(defined in part by "rivière Pin Rouge" (Red Pine river) (northern part of the ZEC)) and more or less Mitchinamecus river (for a segment of the southwestern part of the ZEC). Note: Parent (southbound) trail follows the route of the Pin Rouge River; * on the north side by the road of Parent; * on the east side by a series of lakes: Némiscachingue, Badajoz, Gooseneck, down south to the limit of Zec Mazana; * on the south-east: the Zec Mazana. Path to reach the entrance station Maclean: Take the route 309 via

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...

; take the road to Parent up to km no. 52. Zec Normandie offers camping sites on its territory for a short stay on the shores of lakes Parent, Orthès and "de la Table". A restaurant-convenience store with gasoline is located at km 85 in front of West Lake Parent campground. ZEC also offers rental cabins, located at Lake Parent and Némis. Picking wild berries is very popular in the middle of the ZEC summer: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, wild edible mushrooms ...

History

The territory of the Zec Normandie has a lot of remains of the forestry history in northern Mont-Laureir. The remains of the Old Red Pine, group of buildings that served as headquarters for the "garde-feu" (fender), are still visible on the banks of the "rivière du lièvre" (Hare river). This river originates in the territory of the ZEC. The work of monitoring of forest land by the fender was essential for the safety of users of the forest and wood protection. During the long period of "drave" (log driving), the Lievre River has experienced many tragedies of drowning or other accidents involving loggers, of which at Rapid of "Scie Ronde" (Rounded saw) and "Chute à Sinaï" (Fall Sinai). The history book "Les pionniers de la Lièvre" (Pioneers of Hare) tells the story of forestry on the "Haute Lièvre" (Upper Hare), that is the actual territory of the ZEC. The outdoor enthusiasts can hike with interpretation of the log drive on the trail along the "Sentier des Draveurs" (river Draveurs) along "rivière du Lièvre", it rapids and it falls.

Hunting and Fishing

Zec home many species of wildlife including:

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

and

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

. On the territory of the ZEC, the hunting is depending on different times of the year, hunting gear type, sectors, gender animals (moose) for the following species:

, black Bear, grouse,

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

and

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

. Fish abound in water bodies of the area. Fishing is depending on quota for the following species:

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

, lake trout,

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

and "Doré" (golden).

Toponymy

The name of the ZEC is directly originated from Lake Normandie, which is formed by a widening of the river du Pin Rouge. The latter runs just outside the western boundary, in the

. A regional map of 1930 refers to Lake Normandie. The name recalls an ancient province of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from which many

French Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

and where many Canadian soldiers fought in the two world wars. The name "Zec Normandie" was formalized on August 5, 1982 at the Bank of place names in the (Commission de toponymie du Québec - Geographical Names Board of Quebec)./ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=121174 Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Quebec) - Bank of place names - Toponym: Zec Normandie
/ref>

References

Attachments

, unorganized territory *

Antoine-Labelle Antoine-Labelle is a regional county municipality located in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is Mont-Laurier. It is named for Antoine Labelle. Subdivisions There are 28 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (2) * Mont ...

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (''french: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC'') is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county r ...

, administrative region of

* Zec Mazana *

* Zone d'exploitation contrôlée (Controlled Harvesting Zone) (ZEC)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Normandie, zec Protected areas of Laurentides Protected areas established in 1978 Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality 1978 establishments in Quebec