Atlas of Bank Restoration Sites of the St. Lawrence River - Warning

It is important to note that this version of the Atlas of Bank Restoration Sites of the St. Lawrence River is the same as the one published online in 2006 on the Environment and Climate Change Canada website. Even if the majority of the information found there are still relevant, some are no longer up to date, in particular those on the monitoring of sites. Indeed, although the majority of sites have not yet been restored, some have been, and they are not all identified in the Atlas. The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) plans to update this information, but recommend for now, and until further notice, to verify this information with the contact person identified on the descriptive fact sheet (section 7), before choosing a site to restore. A field visit would be also relevant in order to get an idea of the current state of the site.

It is also important to note that the biological data associated with each site are not necessarily up to date. Before choosing a site to restore, it is therefore recommended to verify with concern authorities if new biological data are available, especially for those regarding species at risk. Indeed, several studies are conducted on these species and our knowledge is continuously evolving. In addition, a site that seemed interesting to restore when the Atlas was created may be considered inappropriate today because of new knowledge indicating that the project may negatively impact species at risk. The Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec (CDPNQ) provides the latest data on the presence of species at risk on a given site (http://www.cdpnq.gouv.qc.ca/demande.asp [Only in French]).

It is also important to note that the restoration diagrams presented in the Atlas are suggestions that should be validated by field visits
once a site has been chosen as it was impossible to conduct a detailed and systematic study of each proposed site in this Atlas. As a result, the restoration plans may not be perfectly adapted to the particular conditions prevailing at a given site. It is also possible that other restoration approaches, recently developed or not, could also yield interesting results and could even be preferred to those suggested in this Atlas.

Finally, organizations that decide to restore sites included in this Atlas are strongly encouraged to notify Environment and Climate Change Canada at the beginning and at the end of the restoration work ( diane.dauphin@ec.gc.ca). In this way, we will be able to draw up a list of all projects that have been completed over the years so that other groups do not undertake restoration procedures on already restored sites. We will also be able to provide relevant information on the contact person within organizations having performed the restoration work, methods used and results obtained.