Zecs Québec Lauded for Improving Wildlife Conservation in Québec Using GIS

QUÉBEC, Esri Canada User Conference — May 2, 2018 — Zecs Québec represents a network of non-profit organizations that manages controlled areas for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation in Québec. Over the past year, Zecs Québec has improved its capacity to manage and share information throughout its network and with the public by using geographic information system (GIS) technology. For this achievement, Esri Canada today presented Zecs Québec with the Award of Excellence in GIS.

“Zecs Québec has been very agile in embracing GIS in a very short period of time,” notes Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “As a result, it has positioned itself to become more effective in meeting its mandate of developing, exploiting and conserving wildlife, while improving access to Quebec’s controlled territories, for everyone’s benefit.”

Previously, Zecs Québec outsourced its mapping activities. This became costly in both time and money as there were delays in updating maps, which were critical to the network’s planning and operations. In late 2017, Zecs Québec decided to move to Esri’s ArcGIS Online technology, which has enabled its small team to create and maintain web maps and apps on their own. These include an interactive map that facilitates better access to the controlled areas by helping the public to view information about each area and plan their visit. The team has also developed a version of the map that includes sensitive data for internal use. As well, ArcGIS Online has enabled them to launch an open data portal to share several datasets with partners and the public.

“Switching to ArcGIS technology has provided tremendous cost savings and allowed us to become autonomous and more agile in managing our data,” says Chrystel Losier, biologist at Zecs Québec. “It doesn’t require advanced GIS expertise to use. In fact, we were able to create our open data site within a few weeks, without the need for coding.”

The solution has also opened up new ways for the organization to collaborate with the public. Now, people can report roadblocks and acts of poaching in the controlled areas, as well as errors on Réseau Zec’s interactive map, through forms developed with ArcGIS Online.

Learn more about ArcGIS Online at esri.ca/arcgisonline.

About Zecs Québec
Founded in 1983, Zecs Québec, or the Fédération Québécoise des gestionnaires de zecs (FQGZ), is a non-profit organization, just like the 63 zecs (“zones d’exploitation contrôlées”) managing bodies it represents. Zecs Québec and the 63 zecs form together the Réseau Zec. Zecs Québec is the official spokesperson appointed by the government to represent and defend the zecs’s interests. Zecs Québec does not constitute a superior authority to the zecs. Its role is rather to provide services and support to its members.

About Esri Canada  
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower people in business, government and education to make informed and timely decisions by leveraging the power of mapping and spatial analytics. These solutions enable organizations to better manage their resources, plan their future and collaborate within and beyond their organization. Esri Canada’s products and services help advance successful digital transformation. The company serves 12,000 organizations from 16 offices across Canada and is based in Toronto. In 2015, Esri Canada became a Gold Standard winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies and in 2016 was named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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