Matthew Farfan

A new group has just been formed to help preserve and promote the heritage landscapes of the Eastern Townships. Christened the Comité du patrimoine paysager estrien, the group is made up of representatives of sixteen different regional organizations. Members include such diverse groups as Tourisme Cantons-de-l'Est, the Quebec Ministry of Transport, the Eastern Townships Research Centre, and Domtar Paper.

At a recent press conference at Sherbrooke's Musée de la nature et des sciences, Committee member and President of the Conseil régional de l'environnement de l'Estrie, Jean-Guy Dépôt, said that the Townships are rich in heritage landscapes, giving people here an exceptional quality of life and creating numerous economic opportunities." He cautioned, however, that "over the years, a number of ill-conceived developments have done harm to the region." The raison d'être of the new Committee will be to come up with a "global and regional strategy for the preservation and promotion of the region's heritage landscapes."

Over the next few months, the Comité du patrimoine paysager estrien will be working to build up an information and exchange network for the preservation and promotion of heritage landscapes across the Townships. A number of activities are in the works, and are all aimed at bringing people together and arriving at a consensus on how best to proceed to protect our landscapes. Evening debates are planned for January, 2003, followed by a series of public consultations, and finally a regional forum for May, 2003.

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