How Québec's abandoned logging roads are damaging lakes, rivers and streams — and putting wildlife at risk

An abandoned forest road that has become impassable due to the washout of the culvert fill. The beaver dam has also contributed to road erosion. (Forest Hydrology Laboratory of Université Laval), Author provided

For more than 25 years, the Québec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks has had a very effective tool to make its forest industry more competitive than other provinces.

Québec has not implemented a single forest road management plan since the mid-1990s. This has allowed the government and the forest companies operating in the province’s public forests to save money, but it has put nearby aquatic environments, including lakes, rivers and streams — and the animals that live there and rely on them — at risk.