Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve is a reserve in the Laurentian Mountains

Laurentian mountains

The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...

 of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, stretching across the Laurentides and Outaouais regions.

The area was extensively logged

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 in the late 19th to the mid 20th century. Although logging still continues on a smaller scale, the reserve was created in 1971 to provide outdoor recreation opportunities while favouring wildlife conservation. In harmony with its mandate to ensure the sustainability of resources and to foster the rational use of its territory, the reserve pursues wildlife and fish development activities by setting up spawning grounds

Spawning bed

A spawning bed is an underwater solid surface on which fish spawn to reproduce themselves.In fishery management, a spawning bed is an artificial bed constructed by wildlife professionals in order to improve the ability of desired game fish to reproduce...

, tree groves

Grove (nature)

A grove is a small group of trees with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia grove, or a small orchard planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts...

, interpretation trails, and nesting boxes

Nest box

A nest box, also spelled nestbox is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for wild and domesticated birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses, but some mammalian species may also use them. Birdhouses are the most common types of nest...

.

It is named after two historical figures of Quebec: Louis-Joseph Papineau

Louis-Joseph Papineau

Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...

 (1786-1871), famous orator and leader of the Patriots of 1837, and Antoine Labelle

Antoine Labelle

François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle was a Roman Catholic priest and the person principally responsible for the settlement of the Laurentians...

 (1833-1891), pastor of St. Jerome and ardent proponent of the colonization of the Upper Laurentians.

The Montreal Gazette

The Gazette (Montreal)

The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...

 of November 18, 2008, called the Papineau-Labelle Reserve "magnificent" and included it in the 10 hot spots of Quebec's wilderness that "you should experience before you die".

Geography

This large reserve, spanning across 9 municipalities and 1 territory, contains 763 lakes and 42 streams, and has mountain peaks up to 500 metres (1,640.4 ft). It is the source of 2 river basins, namely the Petite-Nation River

Petite-Nation River

The Petite-Nation River is a river in western Quebec, Canada, that flows from the Laurentian mountains to empty into the Ottawa River near Plaisance, Quebec. The river is 97 km in length....

, which flows from north to south into the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

, and the Sourd River, which is a tributary of the Du Lièvre River

Du Lièvre River

The du Lièvre River is a river in western Quebec which flows south from the Mitchinamécus reservoir and empties into the Ottawa River at Masson-Angers. The river is 330 km in length and drains an area of 10,400 km²...

 to the west.

Among the larger, more notable lakes are:

• Echo Lake
• Ernest Lake
• Joinville Lake
• Lock Lake (Lac de l'Écluse)
• Lake of Mallows (Lac des Mauves)
• Marie-Lefranc Lake
• Montjoie Lake
• Paul Lake
• Preston Lake
• Saint-Denis Lake
• Lake of Seven Brothers (Lac des Sept Frères)
• Sourd Lake

Flora and fauna

The reserve lies within the Eastern forest-boreal transition

Eastern forest-boreal transition

The Eastern forest-boreal transition is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of North America, mostly in eastern Canada.-Setting:...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

. The landscape is characterized by mixed forest, dominated by sugar maple

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...

 and yellow birch

Yellow Birch

Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...

. Besides several softwood species (such as fir, spruce, pine, cedar and hemlock), other hardwood species present include: red oak, beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

, linden

Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

, elm

Elm

Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...

, and ash.

Many species of mammals and birds are found within the reserve, including: White-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

, moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

, wolf, beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

, fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

, Snowshoe Hare

Snowshoe Hare

The Snowshoe Hare , also called the Varying Hare, or Snowshoe Rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks...

, Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed Grouse

The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...

 and Spruce Grouse

Spruce Grouse

The Spruce Grouse or Canada Grouse is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees...

.

Fish species found within its lakes include: brook trout

Brook trout

The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...

, lake trout

Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...

 (salmon trout), splake

Splake

The splake is a hybrid of two fish species resulting from the crossing of a male brook trout and a female lake trout...

, smallmouth bass

Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

, walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, and northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

.

Activities

The reserve has activities for year-round use, including fishing, hunting, canoe camping, hiking, wild berry picking, wildlife and bird viewing, cross-country skiing, dogsledding, and snowmobiling. Permits and payment of fees are required for any of these activities.

Visitors can be accommodated in cabins, rustic shelters, huts, and campsites (semi-serviced and backcountry).