Le déclassement d’une réserve intégrale : régimes d’appropriation et changements écologiques

Based on the case of a protected wilderness area in Quebec, this article looks at the processes of appropriation, expropriation, and re-appropriation affecting the trajectory of a protected area over time. The existing appropriation regimes (instituted or real) reveal different ways of conceiving the integral conservation of nature?and its principles such as free evolution?the care given to a place, or the way of associating natural entities and cultural practices. The lack of consideration of these differences by the federal government has led the community to reclaim this island by demanding the downsizing of the reserve. Looking at this process allows us to understand how ecological changes and social mobilizations are difficult to grasp using state categories of management and ownership. This case shows the hazards inherent to a space under ecological protection and the unexpected effects of the arrangement of wildlife.