A large-scale dune restoration project for the entire territory of the Magdalen Islands was launched in the spring of 2016 following an inventory carried out in the spring of 2015 on the breaches in the dune environment and the state of restoration carried out since 2009. The three-year project received funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and support for the 1st year from the Fondation de la Faune du Québec. It has made it possible to intervene on various dune ridges and to monitor the previous year’s restorations.
Priority has been given to some sectors because they carried a risk of dune and wetland degradation (erosion, new breaches, impact on wetlands, etc.) or because they harbored habitats for endangered species, such as the Piping Plover and the Horned Grebe. The West Dune sector was chosen as a starting point for the project’s initial year, with its 14 km dunes and 635 hectares of wetlands to preserve. It included more than 25 sections where the integrity of the wetlands they protected was in danger. In October 2016, the sites were visited, and 13 were selected for restoration. Between October 18 and November 3, 15 structures (11 fascines and four mats of branches) and a 285 m² planting of Ammophila with short ligule were created.
At the same time, to raise awareness in the population and among those using the area, three information panels were installed along the main routes, and a class of 25 high-school students was invited to take part in an operation to plant Marram grass in a popular area for locals. These actions helped preserve an 80-hectare space, including wetlands with a quality index of 3 "High" and 4 "Superior," as well as their adjacent lagoon environment (uncharacterized).
