Community Update No. 7
Dear Perkins-sur-le-Lac neighbours,
It has been quite a while since we last updated you on Conservation Perkins-sur-le-Lac activities, but this is mostly because we have been very busy! Please find below an update on our winter and spring activities.
Visit from the Nature Conservancy of Canada
In our last update, we had told the community that the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) had expressed an interest in visiting our area. We obtained permission to walk on the land from Lauzon and hosted a visit on April 27, 2022.
Prior to the visit, the NCC shared its conservation priorities with us; and we were able to share Lauzon’s ecological studies with them. They had already collected a significant amount of information about our area and had a good sense of what species may exist here.
Board members Justine Akman, Isabelle Foley, and Colette Labrecque-Riel took part in the excursion, along with Francisco Retamal Diaz and Milaine Saumur (consultant biologist) from the NCC. During this four-hour visit, we were able to lead the NCC down Ruisseau Carroll from its beginning on Chêne-Rouge, up the “ridge” leading to the private part of Blackburn (parallel to the logging road off of Harfang-des-Neiges) and to the wetland directly west of Lac Chevreuil (Lauzon Lots 1&3). We also walked the land between Lac des Épinettes and Lac Louise (Lauzon Lots 25, 26, 27).
During this visit, the NCC was in search of species which are endangered, at-risk or of interest, which are clearly challenging to find in a 4-hour period, on a day where it just happened to be snowing in late April! This said, they did find one plant with status, the American Conopholis, and another of interest, the Downy Rattlesnake-plantain (see photo). In addition, they confirmed that there were many other signs of our area being a good host for other species of interest. We were also able to share with them a recording of a whippoorwill from the area, and we spoke to them about ginseng and wild garlic viewings, along with many turtles, snakes, wolves and other species which are indications of a healthy yet fragile environment.
Following this visit, the NCC confirmed that they were not currently in a position to proceed with a purchase of land in our area as we are not part of their five-year plan, however they stated that they would continue with their analysis based on information received. Moving forward, it will be important both for our relationship with the NCC and for other fundraising efforts to monitor plant and wildlife in our area. The Board of Directors discussed this at our recent meeting (May 31, 2022) and based on this information, it was agreed to explore the development of a web site feature onto which people could easily upload information about species with status in the PSLL region, including metadata (date; time; GPS location, etc).
With this in mind, we encourage you to keep your eyes open and your cameras close at hand, and to please let us know if you have any evidence of species with status in the region by sending us an email to the address below. In particular, you could look for evidence of the existence of the following: Blanding turtle, wild garlic, ginseng, black maple tree, northern maidenhair fern.
Land Trust & Charitable Status
In our last update we told you that we may work with a group called the Institut des Territoires (IDT), which is a land trust with charitable status. However, after further contemplation and research we have decided not to proceed in this manner. Similar to ACRE, which is also incorporated as a non-profit organisation, we will define ourselves as a land trust by adhering to the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices (2019).
In terms of charitable status, we received a response to our application from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on May 12, 2022 requesting more information, with 60 days to respond. We are currently in the process of preparing our response which will include more clarity with regards to how the group will protect ecosystems and biodiversity on a long-term basis (e.g. through the kinds of educational initiatives mentioned above). We are currently working on this response.
Other Activities Undertaken
Following our last Community Update in February, CPSLL made Lauzon maps (with land divisions approved at the “avant-projet” stage) available to the PSLL community. Approximately 20 email requests for access to the maps were received.
CPSLL has had two Board of Directors meetings since our last update (March 15, 2022 and May 31, 2022).
In addition to being a registered non-profit federally, CPSLL’s registration in Quebec was completed on March 7, 2022.We have recently updated our Bylaws, which will become part of our update to the CRA for charitable status. These were passed by the Board of Directors through an electronic vote and will soon be posted on our web site.
In the Bylaws, it is stipulated that we can establish and update Guidelines which are a more flexible set of documents to guide the work that we undertake together. The first set of guidelines to be developed and passed at our Board of Directors meeting on May 31, 2022 are for the Project Approval Process, which explain how any community member can present and have approved a project proposal to the CPSLL Board of Directors. For more information about this or for a copy of the guidelines, please contact us at our email address below.
We have updated a set of Frequently Asked Questions which will be posted on our web site in the coming days.
We have obtained a one-year membership to an organization called the Réseau des milieux naturels protégés (https://rmnat.org/), which is a network of like-minded organisations in Québec which has already provided us with valuable information. With this membership, Board members have access to training sessions, various toolkits and information concerning land conservation in Québec.
Finally, we will be adding a land acknowledgement to our website (i.e. an acknowledgement of the traditional territory of indigenous people of which the land in the PSLL region is part of).
Next Steps
Fundraising: some efforts will be made over the summer to collect pledges for purchase of Lauzon land in anticipation of receiving our charitable status in the fall.
Two members of the executive will endeavor to meet with Lauzon representatives for a second time to update them on our efforts, and to request further information regarding Lauzon’s plans for the land in our area.
Work will be done to establish a conservation/species with status section of our website. Volunteers to assist with this are most welcome!
Thank you again for your interest and please feel free to reach out to us at conservation.perkins.sur.le.lac@gmail.com should you have any questions or concerns. Some of our Board members will also plan to attend the Association PSLL AGM this summer and we would be happy to meet you or answer any questions about CPSLL that you may have after the meeting.
Sincerely,
Conservation Perkins-sur-le-Lac