By Lidia Capece, Assistant Environment Officer–Montreal Garrison, Resource Conservation Branch, 2nd Canadian Division
Trois-Rivières, Quebec — Amateur ornithologists set up nearby, equipped with cameras with telephoto lenses, in the hope of taking the best picture of a migratory bird in flight. The view of Lake Saint-Pierre is magnificent, and you can observe a variety of wildlife and plant species. No, it is not a national park, but the Munitions Experimentation Test Centre (METC). What a great place to work for environmental specialists!
The METC is located on the south shore of Lac Saint-Pierre, about ten kilometres southwest of Trois-Rivières and about two kilometres west of Nicolet. It covers an area of about 20 km2.
This site has been used for ammunition certification tests before their use in military operations since 1952. At first, the projectiles tested were fired into Lac Saint-Pierre. Since 2000, for safety reasons, the projectiles have been fired at five stop butts. Work began in 2016 to remove unexploded munitions from Lac Saint-Pierre.
The use of this site by the Department of National Defence (DND) has helped to preserve the natural state of the property. Over time, the METC site has obtained various types of environmental protection status.
For example, the Nicolet METC property was designated in 1982 as a migratory bird sanctuary. In 2000, a large portion of the site was considered an international natural heritage protected area and was…
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