Usually, at the end of 19th century in Canada, the arrival of the train and the construction of forest roads in the hinterland allowed better access to wilderness. In the 20th century, airplanes, snowmobiles and other all-terrain vehicles were other ways to remote and difficult to reach water bodies. Consequently, forestry and mining, hunting, fishing, and other recreational and tourism activities were able to grow in these wilds. In 1978, the Quebec government has chosen not to renew the leases of private clubs hunting and fishing on public lands. "Zec du Bas-Saint-Laurent" was established in 1978 by the Government of Quebec to democratize access to this territory and to help the development of outdoor recreation. This newly created zone was assigned to volunteer directors elected by the members of Zec, who will see their administration and control the exploitation of fish and wildlife.
Geography
The territory of the ZEC covers an area of in the administrative region of Bas-Saint-Laurent. It is located along the Réserve faunique de Rimouski. This territory in the form of "L" is located between the villages of La Trinité-des-Monts, Saint-Marcellin and Saint-Charles-Garnier. ZEC is at the west of waterbodies: Lac Inférieur, Lac à la Croix and Lac Supérieur. Major lakes of Zec are: Chic-Chocs, hunters, Des Eaux-Mortes, Du Beaver Deposit Du, Du Gros Ruisseau Du Summit, Grand Lake Neigette, Grand Bouchard, Huron, Long, Glasses, Mistigougèche, Montagnais, Patapédia, Little Lake and Lake Neigette Prime. How to get the entries of the Zec: Entry no. 1 - Caribou: From Rimouski, take route 232 south to the junction of the route 234. Then follow the road for about 3 km from the reserve to the post Home Caribou. Phone: 418-735-2542. Entry no. 2 - 30 Miles: From Lake Humqui, follow the signs to get to 30 Miles entry on non-paved roads.
Hydrography
The territory of the ZEC has 110 lakes for fishing the brook trout and two lakes for fishing "lake trout".
Wildlife
The hunting for the moose, deer, black bear and small animal is authorized in the ZEC. Hunting quotas are allocated by the ZEC based on species, sex beasts, hunting gear and periods of the year. Recreational fishing is popular on the territory of the ZEC. Quotas of fishing are assigned by the ZEC for brook trout and lake trout.
Tourism
Three hiking trails of are built along rivers in the ZEC. Primitive camping is allowed along the same rivers. The territory of the ZEC has 25 campgrounds with a total of 300 campsites, including: camping Esker, Island Beauséjour, Chic-shock, River Mistigoucèche, Montagnais, Neigette, Huron, Bona, Mistigougèche, Mailloux, Lambert, Trinity, P52, Zephyr, Brook Ouellet, Rimouski-Est, Taché, 30 miles, Camp Brûlé, Club Price, Eaux-Mortes, Du Huit and Chasseurs.
