Wildlife and Flora

Wildlife and flora

Two types of vegetation fashion the landscape of James Bay Region: there is the forest, almost impenetrable, sprinkled with groves, hardwoods and a wide variety of bushes.

It brims witrh edible plants and wild berries. A little further north, the undergrowth thins out, the hardwoods gradually disappear and the spruces become smaller in size and number. The boreal forest gives way to the taiga.

Cladonia, or reindeer moss, grows very slowly and takes many years to from the greenish thalli that carpet the shallow acid soil of the James Bay territory. Every year, herds of caribou from the Au Feuilles River and the Georges River leave Nunavik and travel thousands of kilometres seeking new pastures.

It is therefore very important not to harm these carpets of lichen, which are a staple of their diet. For all its calm appearance, the local forest is also home to about forty species of mammals, including wolves, lynxes, foxes, bears and moose.

In the sky, sheltered beneath the rushes, perched on branches or paddling on the waters, birds make their presence felt and their call heard. Ducks, Canada geese, snow geese, snowy owls, eagles, falcons, ptarmigans, loons figure among the bird life of the James Bay Region. The abundance of the aquatic fauna is increasingly recognized.

The diversity as well as the enormous size of certain specimens make it a real paradise for fishing enthusiasts who are ready to travel a long way to try their luck for lake trout, walleye, brook trout, pike and other species in the crystal-clear waters of the James Bay’s innumerable lakes and rivers. James Bay and Hudson Bay also boast fish and marine mammals such as whales, belugas and seals who come to visit these areas from the Arctic.

The James Bay – Eeyou Istchee is inhabited by First Nation peoples for thousands of year. Several villages are located in the area. The Cree culture is unique and the inhabitants of the village invite guests to share their way of life: cooking, crafts distinctive ancestral faboulous stories and traditional activities in harmony and respect for nature.