Finally during the 20th century, more efficient, ecological and less dangerous means replaced the log drive. In the past, some species of fish, such as salmon, had deserted the Rivière-Malbaie. Following the end of the log drive in 1987 and the seasonal floods, the river regained its original aquatic fauna, including the presence of salmon and brook trout.

In Charlevoix, even today, we remember this important era of the log drive in particular thanks to one of the region’s last log drivers, Robert Gaudreault, who has many artifacts on display at the Musée de la Drave (Log Drive Museum) located in the village of Saint-Aimé-des-Lacs. Menaud, a powerful symbol of the region, is also the name given to the very young distillery and brewery of Clermont. Also, you have certainly already heard a few snippets of the famous story of Menaud, master log driver from the novel written by Félix-Antoine Savard. Plus, the name of the very popular hiking trail, the Acropole des Draveurs, comes from a poetic expression by Savard.

Log drivers: superheroes of times gone by