Laurentian landscapes
As they discover the region, hikers and skiers on foot and paddlers in kayaks and canoes are struck by the majestic beauty of Ruisseau Jackson. The watershed is located in traditional territories of the Algonquin people and of the Anishinaabe (Anishinabewaki (ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ)). Children who grew up in the area dreamed, at one time or another, of being an explorer, a coureur des bois or a trapper. Others played Jackrabbit Johannsen, one of North America’s most prominent cross-country skiers who glided through the local forests. And we have all sat on the banks of Ruisseau Jackson in every season to admire one of the last bastions of the Lower Laurentians landscape, just minutes away from resorts and residential developments.
Today, visitors and shoreline residents are beginning to notice increasingly visible signs of human presence in the area surrounding the watershed, especially to the north and east, heightening the impression that Ruisseau Jackson truly is a little piece of paradise.
Landscapes and ecosystem services
Ruisseau Jackson – Protected Natural Area has received the support of Peter Bridgewater, outgoing secretary general of the Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands of International Importance and of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere program. Dr. Bridgewater visited the area on foot and by canoe in 2007. An eminent expert and nature lover, he affirmed that the sector is “a frontier between human settlement and biodiversity-rich landscape. Together, marshes, streams, lakes and peaty swamps form a lacy mosaic with conifer and maple forests. This landscape is not only wild and beautiful, but it provides ecosystem services to local residents, as well as those living further away. One of the most obvious is protecting, purifying and producing water of high quality. (…) For all these reasons, beauty and utility, I strongly support the idea of a project developing local cooperation for integrated water management of this 20 square KM conservation area. It will be good locally and a beacon of hope globally.”
Out of Montréal and into Little Switzerland
The southern Laurentians are at a lower altitude than their Upper Laurentians counterparts. The territory is just outside the greater Montréal area, at the gateway to a region that was once known as Little Switzerland. Most of the Laurentian population lives here, and the residential projects on either side of Ruisseau Jackson are clear signs of the significant development that is underway.
Today, human settlements cover almost 2% of the area around the watershed. Lakes and creeks make up 3% and forests account for 85% of the territory. The area of interest around the watershed includes residential cottage developments around Lac Écho, west Christieville road and Salzbourg road in Morin-Heights, west Tamaracouta road in Mille-Isles and the sectors around Montée Hamilton and Montée Saint-Gabriel south in Saint-Sauveur.
Heritage landscape
Little Switzerland! A charming exaggeration and an excellent way to promote the ski centres that dates back to the 1900s and 1940s when more and more city dwellers traveled up north! The P’tit Train du Nord provided easy access to the vast landscape, which has always attracted Montréalers. A century later, we aim to maintain the traditional Laurentians landscapes, which are part of our history and identity. Ruisseau Jackson—Protected Natural Area is also about our heritage.
Beyond the regulatory measures, there is a movement to preserve the territory to ensure that the spirit of the Laurentians lives on. The Conférence régionale des élus des Laurentides has been focused on protecting and enhancing the landscape since 2009. There is also an increasing number of private initiatives with a similar vision and philosophy. In fact, in 2013, a small group of neighbours on Lac Écho in Morin-Heights chose to donate some 32 acres of mountainside land to the municipality. In doing so, they ensured their own tranquility since no construction will ever be permitted on the land. Still, except for when they are boating on the lake, these neighbours are not the only ones who benefit the most from the view: they gave a tremendous gift to the community as a whole and to other owners in particular. In fact, many see their property value increase significantly and this, at no extra cost to them.
A very ancient geological formation
Once upon a time, the Laurentians were as high as the Rockies. They may have even rivalled the 6 000 metres of the Himalayas! Around the creek, the landscape rests on one of the world’s most ancient geological formations. Ruisseau Jackson was probably shaped during the last glaciation, some 10 000 years ago, as the ice eroded the ground and reshaped the sector’s topography. Along the creek are giant moraine blocks—the rock debris left behind by glaciers.
A rich and precious living environment … for life
The wetlands and forests around the watershed are natural filters: they maintain the quality of the water in Ruisseau Jackson and in the lakes and tributaries into which it flows.
“To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.” Aldo Leopold