Wildlife and recreational organisations discursive strategies and the redefinition of Quebec's forest regime

The popularity of outdoor activities gave rise to a new group of stakeholders interested in forestry practices: wildlife organisations. Our case study of the commission on the sustainability of public forest management in Quebec illustrates how wildlife stakeholders used a public participation process to gain recognition. Those organisations formed an alliance with environmental groups and made a strategic use of economic arguments. As the economic discourse remains unchallenged, the arguments most likely to be taken into account are those combining environmental and economic preoccupations, which call for further investigation of the discursive strategies used by social actors.

Keywords: natural resources, resource management, wildlife organisations, public participation, economic discourse, social movements, Quebec, Canada, recreational organisations, discursive strategies, redefinition, forests, outdoor activities, stakeholders, forestry, recognition, organisational alliances, environmental groups, economic arguments, preoccupations, social actors, environment, interdisciplinary approaches