![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/peatland.jpg\")
The peatland is ombrotrophic, meaning it is fed by rainwater. Its mosses have accumulated over millennia, forming a floor that springs underfoot. Photo by: Alexis Riopel \/ Le Devoir<\/p>\nAs soon as Mika\u00ebl Jaffr\u00e9 climbs out of his small car, birdsong resonates within him. He hears the high-pitched melody of a hermit thrush and the spiralling song of an ovenbird. The ornithologist waves his arms like a conductor. Stepping into a natural environment fills him with excitement.<\/p>\n
This natural site is a 42-hectare property in Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski that has just become a private protected area. Two rocky ridges frame a rich peatland \u2014 a haven for rare birds and plants, including Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s largest orchid.<\/p>\n
Along the shores of the St. Lawrence river, \u201cwetlands as intact as this one are very rare,\u201d says Jaffr\u00e9, executive director of Horizon-Nature Bas-Saint-Laurent, the conservation organization that became the property\u2019s owner in March 2026.<\/p>\n
This morning, the biologist is giving Le Devoir a tour of the site. He climbs one of the lichen-covered ridges. A sea of blueberries will turn azure here in August. Jaffr\u00e9 stops short to observe a common garter snake still numbed by the cool night air.<\/p>\n
At the top of the ridge, a marine fog rolls across the landscape. The peatland is hidden from view, tucked into the valley below. Rough red pines cling to the rock despite the absence of substrate. \u201cThey\u2019re probably 200 years old!\u201d Jaffr\u00e9 notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We descend to the valley floor, where a bumblebee forages among the Labrador tea. This is an ombrotrophic peatland, meaning it is fed by rainwater. Its mosses have accumulated over millennia, forming a floor that springs underfoot.<\/p>\n
Wildlife inventory The peatland is ombrotrophic, meaning it is fed by rainwater. Its mosses have accumulated over millennia, forming a floor that springs underfoot. Photo by: Alexis Riopel \/ Le Devoir<\/p>\n
These days, Horizon-Nature is settling into its new domain: the organization has just installed five cameras to form a picture of the large wildlife found there. White-tailed deer, moose and coyotes use the site. Bears likely do as well. Interns are also busy taking an inventory of the \u201cmicrofauna\u201d \u2014 mice, shrews, voles and other small animals \u2014 using 96 metal traps baited with peanut butter.<\/p>\n
For five days, they will check them every 12 hours: once at dawn and once at the end of the day.<\/p>\n
The property previously belonged to Liti\u00e8re Ouellet, a company in L\u2019Isle-Verte that bought the land in the 1990s with the goal of one day extracting peat there. Instead, it eventually focused its operations on wood-shaving animal bedding. \u201cIt\u2019s a fairly exceptional ecological environment, so I was happy to conclude the transaction to help conserve it,\u201d St\u00e9phane Ouellet, the owner of Liti\u00e8re Ouellet, said by phone a few days later.<\/p>\n
Ouellet sold the land for about 45 per cent below its fair market value, thereby making a tax-recognized conservation gift. Horizon-Nature, for its part, received $80,000 from the Fondation pour la biodiversit\u00e9 et la faune du Qu\u00e9bec to pay for the acquisition and related costs.<\/p>\n
Carnivorous plants and elusive warblers ![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/orchids.jpg\")
A blue flag iris blooms just days before Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on the peatland. Photo by: Alexis Riopel \/ Le Devoir<\/p>\n
On the wet trail, cloudberry plants unfurl their tender green leaves, still wrinkled with youth. Some bear a white flower, a promise of berries later this summer. The blue flag iris, Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s floral emblem, is also in bloom, just days before Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.<\/p>\n
In an area of the peatland populated by northern white cedar, Horizon-Nature biologists spotted specimens of showy lady\u2019s slipper last year, a large orchid with 25-centimetre leaves and few known populations in Qu\u00e9bec. The species is considered \u201clikely\u201d to be designated threatened or vulnerable.<\/p>\n
This year, the plant produced neither leaves nor flowers. After a cold spring, its rhizome is probably conserving its energy so it can put on a better display next year, Jaffr\u00e9 explains. The showy lady\u2019s slipper does like to take its time: young plants can take up to 10 years to flower for the first time.<\/p>\n
Other remarkable plants are in bloom: the carnivorous purple pitcher plant is showing off its inflorescence, which resembles a large brownish jingle bell; the dragon\u2019s mouth orchid, a delicate orchid, unfurls its magenta flower. This flowering plant is generally very rare, but here, it is abundant. \u201cYou have to watch where you step \u2014 that\u2019s quite a luxury!\u201d Jaffr\u00e9 exclaims. Farther on, the most open section of the peatland, where a few stunted conifers rise, is \u201cexactly\u201d the habitat of the palm warbler, the protected area\u2019s little avian jewel, the ornithologist says, binoculars around his neck.<\/p>\n
This is the only known site in the Les Basques RCM \u2014 whose chief town is Trois-Pistoles \u2014 where the palm warbler nests, he adds. The bird was once \u201cubiquitous\u201d in the peatlands of the Lower St. Lawrence. \u201cBut its habitat has either disappeared or deteriorated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another remarkable bird, the olive-sided flycatcher, also nests on the site. This aerial insectivore has been in sharp decline in recent decades, earning it a federal status as a species of \u201cspecial concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parade of rare species here is constant. The Saint-Simon coastal ridge sector, historically little disturbed because of its wetlands and steep slopes, is now vulnerable to a degree of real estate pressure, Jaffr\u00e9 worries.<\/p>\n
Horizon-Nature has therefore made conserving this sector, which includes dozens of private lots, a priority. To protect the integrity of the peatland as much as possible, its edges must remain intact. The peatland lies tucked in the valley of the Petite rivi\u00e8re du Nord de la Montagne.<\/p>\n
Already, about 30 landowners have signed a declaration of intent in which they morally commit to preserving the natural environment, without being prevented from gathering plants or hunting. Horizon-Nature would also like to make other acquisitions in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the edge of the peatland, the biologist\u2019s boots sink into waterlogged ground speckled with carnivorous plants. \u201cThe air is full of protein\u2026\u201d he remarks, his head in a cloud of mosquitoes, satisfied to know that the fate of this magical place is now assured.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As soon as Mika\u00ebl Jaffr\u00e9 climbs out of his small car, birdsong resonates within him. He hears the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,48,66],"class_list":["post-787982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}