THE LAURENTIDES PARK 



to be a harmless concession to dam a 

 river's headwaters would have very in- 

 jurious and far-reaching consequences 

 on both fish and game, and would, in 

 effect, defeat the purposes for which the 

 Park was brought into existence. One 

 invasion would assuredly be followed by 

 another, for here as ever il n'y a que le 

 premier pas qui coute. 



It was in the year 1895 that the idea 

 took form of setting apart some two 

 thousand five hundred square miles of 

 the wild and mountainous country north 

 of Quebec and south of Lake St. John, 

 as "a forest reservation, fish and game 

 preserve, public park and pleasure 

 ground." At a later date the area was 

 increased, until now some three thou- 

 sand seven hundred square miles are 

 removed from sale or settlement. 



An important, though indirect, ob- 

 ject was the maintenance of water-level 

 in the dozen or more rivers which take 

 their rise in the high-lying plateau 

 100 



