Over 1000 people treated their taste buds, sampling forest delicacies while many participated in the wild mushroom harvest activity organised by the Lac-Saint-Jean Model Forest (LSJMF) at the Jardins de Normandin.  Public participation and market prices proved that the LSJMF made a good decision in developing this abundant and diversified resource still little known in Québec.

According to Marie-France Gévry, a biologist in charge of the resource inventory in the vast LSJMF territory, “over ten species of mushrooms with a high gastronomic value have a great commercialisation potential in Lac-Saint-Jean”. Among others, there are morels, chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, different boletus and matsutakes. Preliminary results showed that there was 78 kg/ha of edible mushrooms in white spruce populations, 46 kg/ha in black spruce forest and 34 kg/ha in pine forest.

Worldwide, the wild mushroom market is worth more than its weight in gold. The development of this emerging resource represents a unique opportunity for rural development as it contributes to the diversification of forest environment economy.

In Lac-Saint-Jean, mushroom fever started slowly. “Wherever we talk about our wild mushroom project, people want to know more about it. Some harvest teams are already in place and we are planning many training activities for next spring and summer. We are also trying to structure the commercialisation of this abundant resource which may take the form of a harvester’s cooperative,” said Stéphane Turcot, LSJMF’s general manager.

Contrary to traditional blueberry production, the blueberry/forest concept promotes many sustainable development criteria seeing as it allows for the production of more resources per hectare all the while preserving biodiversity and landscapes. In Quebec, the Lac-Saint-Jean Model Forest (LSJMF) has two projects under way looking at the blueberry/forest concept as a means to favour the development of a network of community-based blueberry fields as well as to document the nesting biology of the Connecticut warbler.

This concept was initiated in the early years of 2000 in Normandin, north of Lac-Saint-Jean, with the goal of producing blueberries on public land while maintaining the forest’s production capacity. The Corporation d’aménagement forêt Nomandin is also carrying out an ongoing research project to measure the agronomic, forestry, environmental and wildlife benefits stemming from this concept. The preliminary results are very encouraging and show that there are undeniable advantages to using this type of set-up. The planned network of community-based blueberry fields would promote research while maintaining public tenure of the land base.

Furthermore, according to the preliminary results, the blueberry/forest concept could afford a decent habitat for the Connecticut warbler, a little known bird in Quebec.  In a sustainable development context, the blueberry/forest concept seems to be an excellent starting point in the shift towards a harmonised and balanced development of our forest environment.

Une deuxième mission de développement internationale
La Forêt modèle du Lac-Saint-Jean (FMLSJ) reçoit 100 000 $ du Réseau international des forêts modèles (RIFM) pour faciliter l’implantation et le lancement du Réseau africain de forêts modèles (RAFM). De cette somme, 65 000 $ seront consacrés aux frais d’exploitation du RAFM, alors que 35 000 $ serviront à financer une seconde mission exploratrice canadienne en sol [...]

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