L’intérêt de conservation du territoire doit être préservé pour les générations futures : la qualité du milieu naturel, son écosystème fragile, sa biodiversité unique, la connectivité écologique, les services écosystémiques, les qualités paysagère et historique des valeurs culturelles. Voir photos de certains arbres marqueurs à la fin de cette page.

 

Objectifs : Protéger et maintenir d'importants paysages terrestres et marins, la conservation de la nature qui y est associée, ainsi que d'autres valeurs créées par les interactions avec les humains et leurs pratiques de gestion des resources et coutumes traditionnelles. Conserver à long terme les espèces associées au paysage culturel ainsi que leurs corridors de migration, et préserver la nature et la culture par la protection du paysage à valeurs spirituelle, culturelle et traditionnelle.

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*Un paysage humanisé peut viser d’autres objectifs que la conservation de la biodiversité, par exemple, la protection des paysages, la protection des valeurs culturelles ou l’utilisation durable des ressources naturelles. En cas de conflit entre différents objectifs, la conservation de la nature doit être priorisée. Ainsi, un paysage humanisé doit viser, comme toute autre aire protégée, le maintien ou l’amélioration du caractère naturel du territoire.

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Le territoire d’un paysage humanisé peut comprendre des milieux naturels, des zones agroforestières ou agricoles, des zones résidentielles et certaines infrastructures. La proportion couverte par les zones résidentielles et les infrastructures doit cependant être minime.

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Les activités réalisées sur le territoire doivent être durables et exemplaires. Elles doivent donc respecter la capacité de support des écosystèmes afin d’en assurer la pérennité. Des portions d’un paysage humanisé peuvent accueillir des activités qui ne répondent pas entièrement à ce critère, en autant que les objectifs du plan de conservation prévoient une transition vers des pratiques durables et exemplaires, dans une démarche d’amélioration continue.

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Les valeurs culturelles que l’on souhaite préserver dans un paysage humanisé sont celles qui contribuent à l’atteinte des objectifs de conservation ou celles qui n’interfèrent pas avec ces objectifs. Un paysage humanisé ne comporte aucune exigence en lien avec l’aspect esthétique ou l’architecture des bâtiments (ex. revêtement des bâtiments).

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Un permis d'intervention (expérimentation ou de recherche) a été octroyé par le MFFP en soutien du projet de balisage des arbres marqueurs de sentiers dans la région administrative 07 (U.G. 072, UAF 07251) des Collines-de-l'Outaouais. Voici le schéma des lots visés par le projet de recherche sur la biodiversité et le patrimoine culturel du secteur du lac de l'Écluse :

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Références : (plusieurs renseignements sont seulement disponibles en Anglais)

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Nature Conservancy of Canada: Since 2012, NCC has been working to protect these trees and the deciduous forests they grow in. Indigenous Peoples used bent trees (known as trail trees) to point toward a particular direction or as a warning sign. The first known map with the depiction of trail trees is Map of Ouilmette Reservation with its Indian Reminders, 1828–1844.

Indian Trail Trees Bent By Natives Being Identified and Preserved: The trees are known as Indian marker trees or Indian trail trees and were bent by Native Americans to mark trails or other landmarks. These trees were important in the way tribes communicated with neighbouring clans and within their own communities.

Natural Heritage - Native Trail Marker Trees: Native people used to identify the way along important routes, such as those that took them to the sources of spring water, by bending saplings over and tethering them in place. They’d use rawhide or grape vine, sometimes burying the sapling tip in the ground or putting a rock over it. The tree would then grow with a conspicuous kink in the trunk that would line up with direction of the route. Knowing the way through forest and other terrain was crucial; getting lost, especially in winter, could prove fatal.

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Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society: Trail Marker Trees were an ancient form of land and water navigational aids, as well as a marking system to denote areas of significant importance such as ceremonial sites. These trees were used by many, if not all, of the Native American tribes and later by fur traders and early pioneers. The Trail Marker Trees differed in their appearance and formation from tribe to tribe and from region to region.​

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Michigan State University: Trees provide historic navigation aid - Marking significant landscape features - Most were thought to have marked safe travel routes, either by land or by water. Land marker trees could have designated a well-established route; while water marker trees may have denoted a place for safe portage or a connection to an overland trail. Other trees were thought to have marked a watering spring, a campsite with abundant food or a valued mineral deposit. Still others may have been created to mark the boundary of an area of land or to mark trails that led to a culturally or spiritually significant place. Many of the trail marker trees we see today are 200-300 years old and nearing the end of the tree’s natural life span. A great majority of trail marker trees either died or were removed throughout the last 100 years as land was cleared for agriculture or development. Many of the people removing the trees were unaware of their deep cultural significance and simply removed the tree without thought or cause to learn more. Today, there are several groups throughout the United States dedicated to preserving trail marker trees through education and awareness. While exact locations of trees are not widely published to protect the trees and prevent trespass issues, there are a few that can be found in public locations. 

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Appalachian History: The Mountain Stewards initiated The Trail Tree Project in 2007 to try to learn more about the history and origin of the trail trees. [...] certain trees could be identified as definite trail markers.  Primitive man noticed that trees do not heighten en masse, but that they grow from their tips.  He also observed that they do not turn on an axis while growing, but that once established they maintain a fixed position.

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Archéologie et publications : 

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Trail Trees: Living Artifacts (Vivifacts) of Eastern North America

Ethnobiology Letters

Vol. 6, No. 1 (2015), pp. 183-188 (6 pages)

Published by: Society of Ethnobiology

"Culturally Modified Trees" ... examine the theoretical implications of these living artifacts (or vivifacts) and how they may open new avenues for investigation by archaeologists, environmental historians, and ethnobiologists. To conclude, we make a call for expanded public recognition and documentation of trail trees, discussing the need for their incorporation into forest and park management plans.

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Blazing Ancient Trails from Our Past

As part of the pre-field planning before undertaking an archaeological assessment, archaeologists complete a thorough review of past archaeological work conducted in the local area. This includes identifying the location of previously documented archaeological sites and any cultural heritaginformationprovided by the local First Nations communities. This can include the location of ancient foot trails. For an archaeologist, finding a segment of an ancient trail is an exciting process. If archaeology sites are found along the trail, such as stone artifacts, it further highlights the antiquity of the use of the trails.

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Native American Marker Trees. Interesting, but is the Science Sound?

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Comanche Marker Trees of Texas Paperback – September 23, 2016

by Steve Houser (Author), Linda Pelon (Author), Jimmy W. Arterberry (Author)

In this unprecedented effort to gather and share knowledge of the Native American practice of creating, designating, and making use of marker trees, an arborist, an anthropologist, and a Comanche tribal officer have merged their wisdom, research, and years of personal experience to create Comanche Marker Trees of Texas.

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