La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve

La Vérendrye wildlife reserve is one of the largest reserves in the province of Quebec, Canada, covering 12,589 square kilometres of contiguous land and lake area (Assinica wildlife reserve is the largest in the province, but its territory is broken up in four non-contiguous parts). It is named after Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, a French-Canadian explorer. Located 180km north of Ottawa (Canada’s capital), it is traversed from south to north by Route 117.With more than 4000 lakes and rivers and two huge reservoirs (Cabonga and Dozois), the wilderness territory is a venue of choice for outdoor enthusiasts. In addition to hunting and fishing, it also offers the opportunity to practice wilderness camping or canoe camping on more than 800km of interconnecting canoe routes.Two First Nation communities are found within the boundaries of the wildlife reserve: Kitcisakik on Great Victoria Lake and Lac-Rapide on Cabonga Reservoir.HistoryThe reserve was established in 1939 with the name Reserve Route-Mont-Laurier-Senneterre. It was that year that the road linking Mont-Laurier to Abitibi (now known as Route 117) was expected to be completed. Because this new road made an exceptionally rich wildlife territory accessible to thousands of hunters and fishermen, it became thus important to protect it.