“In summer, when there is not too much mist, you can see Mount Washington,” says Guy Brière proudly, pointing to the horizon from his green estate in the Eastern Townships, which peaks at almost 550 meters. Flanked by his two dogs, including a Newfoundland — a 200-pound furry one, but as gentle as a lamb — and Minuit, his black cat who reigns over the canopy, Guy Brière has a lot to say about his miracle forest. A few kilometers from the Vermont border, this 542-hectare green oasis flourishes south of the Missisquoi River, not far from Glen Sutton and Potton Township.
And it is precisely to demonstrate his attachment to this section of territory – the size of a little more than 1000 football fields – acquired over three decades that he agreed to give it away to protect it in perpetuity. Valued at $7.4 million, this private ecological — and historic — donation is part of the largest conservation project that the Appalachian Corridor organization, in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), has had to deal with over the past few years.
“In fact, it was they, at Corridor appalachien, who discovered me,” said Guy Brière, who made his fortune in the field of publishing with books translated and sold to the four corners of the globe, including the famous Pol Martin's recipe books, sold millions of copies around the world. “I was happy that they approached me because we had quite the same vision. What I wanted was to protect the forest. »
However, to finance the research he wanted to carry out on the impact of climate change on this forest area, he was about to sell 70 lots to real estate developers.
“It was not one to midnight, but rather five to midnight,” explains Mélanie Lelièvre, general director of Appalachian Corridor, who had been eyeing the forest for 10 years. “Before we contacted him, Mr. Brière was ready to launch his sales office, his website was done. Usually when everything is divided up and the roads are made, we are not able to do anything. It took some nerve,” she admits, with a smirk.
A forest of treasures
It is gray at the end of December and a thin covering of snow, even ice, remains on the trails. But for Guy Brière, the walk, which has now become part of his daily life, is always worth the detour. “There can’t be twenty square meters that I haven’t walked,” says this passionate hunter and fisherman.
With his graying hair and the look of a runner of the woods, the big colossus of almost 79 years old, rather reserved and contemplative, was not keen on the idea of being in the spotlight. But when it comes to talking about his passion for his forest, and convincing others to protect it, his words flow like a stream in spring. “My parents had large lands in the Rawdon area. I spent my youth in the forest, fishing for bullhead with a piece of wood, playing with small animals, snaring hares. »
Later, he developed his businessman skills, inherited from his father, a successful merchant who owned, among others, Brière lingerie. As an editor, Guy Brière travels to all continents. “For 20 to 25 years of my life, I spent 60-65 hours a month on a plane. When you come back, you don't feel like seeing people. This is where I bought my forest. It’s my refuge,” he explains.
A refuge whose secrets and treasures he does not hesitate to share. “To see a lynx, you have to look where the tracks are. Then you go back there in the morning, before sunrise, and you go see him. He is fearful, but he always returns to the same place. »
A true jewel of fauna and flora, its forest is the habitat of bears – numerous, it is said -, beavers and foxes, even the enormous eagle owl, which would make short work of Midnight on cat. In this generous biodiversity, there are also the newt and the purple salamander — “very beautiful” — and kinds of ferns that no longer exist in the rest of Quebec. “And over there, I have two acres of wild garlic almost wall to wall,” said the man, with a sparkling look betraying his gluttony.
Inexhaustible, Guy Brière expounds with his frankness on the genesis of forest regeneration up to the importance of hunting to preserve ecosystems. His passionate and fascinating presentations even include a history lesson on the era of the couriers des Bois who traded wild ginseng in the 27th century.e and 28e centuries until that of Prohibition – the Bronfmans and the Kennedys had caches in the area – including that of the British merchant navy, whose boats decimated the white oak forests of the Bois-Francs region. “Today, we are lucky if we find any. »
Race against time
It is this treasure that Guy Brière wanted to protect in perpetuity by entrusting it to Appalachian Corridor and its allies. The acquisition for conservation purposes of this territory is strategic in the Eastern Townships region, where 95% of the land is private property, since it makes it possible to connect a protected forest area in Vermont with these already existing areas. preserved on the Quebec side. “With this project, we are providing ourselves with an insurance policy for the adaptation of our ecosystems to climate change,” said Mélanie Lelièvre. “And working to consolidate the large network of protected areas means ensuring that wildlife species can move across the territory. »
Although the project is on the right track, it is still too early to be fully happy, she believes. “We feel dizzy. It’s a huge responsibility that we put on our shoulders. In conservation, the work begins the day everything is signed. » Of the 16.4 million needed to carry out the project, which includes public funds, the majority must come from the private sector. In this race against time, Guy Brière did his part for 7.4 million, but by the end of winter, there is still $400,000 to raise out of 1.3 million in private donations. All donations, large or small, are welcome, she maintains.
“It’s the holidays and we’re donating money to all kinds of causes. Why not for the cause of the survival of humanity? » declared Guy Brière, who is developing his own research activities on the site, particularly on diseases transmitted by ticks, and a discovery component, to introduce his forest to schoolchildren and other curious people.
Ecological donations are only a tiny percentage of philanthropy, notes Mme Lelièvre. “The large foundations are mainly in health and education, in the fight against poverty. These are all good causes, but the fact remains that we are the poor relation while the house burns down. »
Guy Brière understood this. And he would like other landowners to follow suit. “What I mean is even if you have 5 acres, 20 acres, you can donate it to protect it. It doesn't hurt. It’s rewarding,” he says. “For me, it really gives me a thrill to know that my forest will be there for eternity,” he added. As if giving had made him even richer.
