Information
Facts
-dug by the passing of glaciers thousands of years ago
-a deep valley
-ranked as one of the most longest Fjords
-The Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park is located half-way between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean
-the fjord covers 17% of the park
-over 105 kilometers
-saguenay was the first park in Quebec to protect the marine environment
Park Through Time
The Saguenay River was used as an important trade route into the interior for the First Nations people of the area because they needed to go up and down the river to sell and retrieve.
Between 1840 and 1920, the region had a sizable lumber industry. By the end of the 19th, much of the forests around the Saguenay River were depleted. In addition to the depletion of the forests, difficult terrain and the decline of the lumber industry led to the Saguenay area remaining mostly undeveloped into the 20th century. Starting in 1970 the Quebec government started acquiring the land in hopes of protecting it. In 1988 Quebec and Ottawa figured out he ground work on what they were going to do. In 1990 they began consulting the public about the boundaries of the park. In 1992 The Marine Park boundaries were established to 1,245 km. In 1998 The Marine Park was official and the public were allowed to visit. In 2002 they started to make the Marine Park regulations. In 2010 zoning proposal featuring comprehensive preservation zones over 3% of marine park territory. In 2011 was the founding of the eco-whale alliance. In 2012 the St. Lauren's population of the beluga whale counted only 889 individuals. Finally in 2014 the beluga whale officially became an endangered species by the committee on the status of the endangered wild life in Canada.
