What is the purpose of the project?
The main objective of this project is to make the presence of off-road vehicle (ORV) trails less damaging to the habitat of the Western Chorus Frog and to promote their coexistence in the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional Park.
What does the project involve?
- Identify and characterize off-highway vehicle trails encroaching on or passing near the breeding ponds of the false chorus frog in the Regional Park.
- Barricade and improve the problematic trails in the park.
- Raising awareness among off-road vehicle drivers about the endangered species status of the European tree frog.
- Panneaux de sensibilisation
- Traffic signs
- Miscellaneous publications
Responsibilities of the OBV SCABRIC :
Phase I (2024 – 2025) – Completed
- Project launch meeting with the various partners.
- Characterize on the ground the trails and areas of encroachment of off-highway vehicles.
- Compile observations and define intervention priorities.
- Present the results, preliminary recommendations and best practices to be adopted to the partners.
- Conduct meetings with partners to gather their recommendations for the drafting of awareness and signage panels.
- Obtain authorization from Hydro-Québec for the installation of panels in the Beauharnois-Salaberry park.
- Manufacture and install 22 panels at key locations in Beauharnois-Salaberry Park.
- Prepare a preliminary study report, a project report and an accountability report.
Phase II (2025 – 2026) – In progress
- Visit a breeding pond of the western chorus frog and waste disposal areas in the Regional Park with partners.
- Meet with partners to decide on the interventions that will be carried out during phase III.
- Collecting waste in the Regional Park with partners.
- Contact Hydro Québec to discuss the feasibility and obtaining the necessary permits for the planned developments.
- To mobilize new partners for the implementation of phase III.
- Manufacture and install 2 interpretive panels.
- Prepare a preliminary study report, a project report and an accountability report.
- Organize a public visit to the ponds.
- Organize a waste collection activity open to the general public
On September 20, 2025, a cleanup of the ponds in Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional Park took place. Click the link below for details!
Phase III (2026 – 2027) – To come
- Plan, organize and carry out the planned interventions in the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional Park.
- To advertise following this achievement.
- Request a long-term impact assessment study of the signs and facilities of this project on the behavior of park users.
- The western chorus frog (Pseudacris triseriata) is a small frog (2.5 cm) found in Outaouais and Montérégie.
- Elle est désignée menacée au Québec comme au Canada.
- It is found mainly in meadows or damp woodlands and it reproduces in temporary ponds in the spring which dry up later in the summer.
- The main causes of its decline are the degradation, fragmentation and disappearance of its habitat.
- Several populations of this frog reproduce in the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional Park, in the portion along the south bank of the Beauharnois Canal.
- These populations are inventoried annually by the organization Ciel et Terre to monitor their evolution.
Observations made Annual inventories conducted by the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change (MELCCFP) have shown that several off-road vehicle (ORV) trails encroach upon or pass near breeding ponds of the western chorus frog (CRF). The use of these illegal trails by ORVs can cause the direct crushing and death of the frogs, creating pools or ruts that will be used as breeding sites by this frog, despite continued heavy ORV traffic. The passage of these off-road vehicles also contributes to the resuspension of sediments in the ponds, increases soil compaction, alters water flow, and emits pollutants—all factors that contribute to reducing the quality of the breeding habitats of the western chorus frog. In addition, the trail networks created in Beauharnois-Salaberry Park can contribute to the fragmentation of this frog’s habitat.
The presence of numerous waste deposits in the woods and ponds of the Regional Park can potentially harm the survival and healthy development of its western chorus frog populations. Indeed, waste deposited in the park can release polluting particles that affect the growth, development, and survival of tadpoles. The various types of waste found in the park can also create ecological traps and cause fatal injuries to some individuals.
Western chorus frog
The ponds
Areas of intervention
The signs
OBV SCABRIC is the project leader for the cohabitation with the western chorus frog.The project at the Canal de Beauharnois is financed by :
This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Canada acting through the federal Department of the Environment and Climate Change, responsible for the program entitled “Canadian Nature Fund”, as part of the Quebec Initiative for the protection and restoration of the habitat of the Western Chorus Frog in Montérégie and Outaouais, led by Nature-Action Québec.
This project was made possible with the financial support of the Quebec Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Quebec Wildlife Foundation, as well as by NAQ through the ECCC Rainette Fund.
This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Canada acting through the federal Department of the Environment and Climate Change, responsible for the program entitled “Canadian Nature Fund”, as part of the Initiative québécoise pour la protection et la restauration de l’habitat de la rainette faux-grillon de l’Ouest en Montérégie et en Outaouais,., led by Nature-Action Québec.
The cleaning of wetlands is included in the 2018-2023 Plan d’action de la Stratégie québécoise de l’Eau, which deploys concrete measures to protect, use and manage water and aquatic environments in a responsible, integrated and sustainable manner.
Watershed organizations and regional consultation tables are the bodies designated by the Government of Quebec to ensure the necessary collaboration among stakeholders in the region to develop water resource planning, including their uses and associated environments. This planning aims to implement concrete measures to protect, use, and manage water and aquatic environments in a responsible, integrated, and sustainable manner. The ROBVQ is the association of watershed organizations recognized by the Government of Quebec.
For more information!
Contact our project managers at projet@scabric.ca.