The Zec de la Lièvre (English: "Zec of Hare") is a

zone d'exploitation contrôlée A ''zone d'exploitation contrôlée'' (; 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 over fro ...

(controlled harvesting zone) (ZEC) in the unorganized territory of Lac-Ashuapmushuan, in

Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality Le Domaine-du-Roy (, ) is a regional county municipality in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is in Roberval, and it is named for the King of France, who owned the land at the time of the colonization of Quebec. Sub ...

, in the administrative region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, 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, ...

, in

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 ...

Geography

The northeastern boundary of this forested area of of the ZEC starts at about twenty kilometers (direct line) southwest of

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (, ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of , and is ...

or near the village of Sainte-Hedwidge. ZEC has nearly 400 lakes. On the east side, the ZEC is bounded by two major rivers, the rivers Ouiatchouaniche and Croche. The largest lakes in area are Panache Lake, "des Casques" (Helmets), "aux Eaux-Mortes" and "De la Baie" (the Bay). The latest delimitation of the ZEC was defined in October 1991. ''Rivers'' Segments of some streams and rivers crossing the west of the ZEC belong to the upper watershed system of

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (, ; ) is one of the main tributaries of the St. Lawrence River, after the Ottawa River, Ottawa and the Saguenay River, Saguenay Rivers and drains an area of 42,735 km2. It touches the Lac Saint-Jean, Lake Saint John waters ...

, such as rivers Raimbault, "à la Corne" (to the Horn) and Croche. Having a length of about 60 km, the

La Lièvre River LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

rises in lake Giroux, formerly referred to as "Lac de la Lièvre" (Lake of the Rabbit). Flowing south, the

constitutes the western boundary of the ZEC over 40 km. Then the river flows into the

Trenche river Trenche may refer to: Canada * Lac de la Trenche, in La Tuque (urban agglomeration), Mauricie, Québec * River Trenche, a tributary of the Saint-Maurice River, Québec * Central Trenche, an hydroelectric dam located on the Saint-Maurice River in ...

, a major tributary of the

where the waters flow to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. ''Camping and services'' ZEC offers hundreds of campsites, of which three campgrounds around the lake Brosseau and one at lake Labonté. The main ZEC reception station is located near Saint-Hedwidge. The second entrance station is located south of the ZEC, near "Lac aux Goélands" (Lake of the Gulls). The snowmobile trail and mountain bike cross from east to west the territory of the ZEC.

Logging operations on "La Lièvre"

In the past, logging were the predominant economic activity in the territory of the ZEC, including the former logging camp "Dépôt-de-la-Lièvre" has been in operation for over 70 years. At the height of operations in the sector of rivière La Lièvre, "Veillet et Frères Limitée" contracted between 3000 and 3500 workers assigned to the timber (through sub-contractors). The work of cutting wood was distributed among 45 to 50 forest contractors. Following the death of Jeffrey Veillet, which occurred in 1946, Consolidated Paper has taken over directly woodcutting. The company "Veillet & Frères Limitée" was dissolved in 1947.

Hunting and Fishing

In water bodies of Zec, aquatic fauna is composed mainly of

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

. In the ZEC, the wild animals are abundant and varied (mainly):

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

american black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

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

ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only spe ...

and

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

. The hunting quotas are depending on by periods of the year, sectors, hunting gear and sex of animals (moose). Based on zec's record, in 2011, a total of 100

(43 males, 54 females and 3 calves) were harvested in the territory of the ZEC.

Toponymy

The name of the ZEC has its origins in the former name of the main headwater lake, the Giroux Lake (formerly named "lac La Lièvre") which flows into the

running through the ZEC. Despite a temporary designation Raimbault River in 1917, the popular name for the river contained several variants: Little Hare River, River Little Hare, The Hare and The Hare Grosse. Although the French word "lièvre" (rabbit) is masculine, feminine remains by removing the term "river", to denote the "rivière La Lièvre" (Hare River). The name "Zec de la Lièvre" was formalized on December 18, 1986 at the Bank of place names in the

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

(Geographical Names Board of Quebec).Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Quebec) - Bank of place names - Toponym: Zec de la Lièvre
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References

External links