The "Montmorency Forest" is an experimental forest located in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier, in the

La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality La Côte-de-Beaupré is a regional county municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Château-Richer. Its most populous community is the municipality of Boischatel. Subdivisions There are 11 subdivisions within ...

, in the administrative region of

Capitale-Nationale Capitale-Nationale (; en, National Capital region) is one of the 17 List of Quebec regions, administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's Communauté métropol ...

, in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, in Canada. This protected forest is mainly served by the forested route 33 which connects by the south to route 175. The main lodge located on the west shore of Lac Piché is located north of downtown

. This forestry education center is managed by the Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

. The university received this territory – starting from an area of – from

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

in 1964 by an

emphyteutic lease An emphyteutic lease is a type of real estate contract specifying that the lessee must improve the property with construction. The term is commonly used in Quebec and France. These sorts of leases are usually associated with government properties. ...

of 99 years. In return, it committed to developing research and teaching in various fields of the natural sciences. In 2014, the Forêt Montmorency benefited from an extension which brought its area to .

The environment

Located in the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains ( French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...

, the Montmorency forest is drained by the

Montmorency River The Montmorency River is a tributary of North-East bank of St. Lawrence river, flowing in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of the river successively crosses the regional county municipa ...

and by one of its tributaries, the Black river. There are four lakes: Lac Piché, Bédard, Laflamme and Joncas. The altitude varies between 600 and with an average of 750 meters. The predominant forest stand is the fir forest

white birch ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...

. File:Lac Piché Montmorency 02.jpg, Piché Lake File:Rivière noire Montmorency 03.jpg, The fall of the Noire river. File:Wood bridge Montmorency.jpg, The wooden bridge that spans the

File:Foret Montmorency - 001.jpg, Reception pavilion

Climate

Annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

exceeds and, in winter, the average snowfall exceeds 6 meters. The annual average temperature is 0.5-degree Celsius and there are approximately 133 frost-free days in the year. A weather station existed at elevation from 1965 to 2001. A new station was established at beginning in 2003. The weather box uses climate normals from the first station.

Activities

Teaching and research

The Montmorency Forest is a training place for students of the 1st cycle and an open-air laboratory for students of the

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and third cycle, researchers and professors from Laval University, especially those from Center d'études de la forêt. The Main Pavilion has spaces large enough to accommodate groups in training. Research is done mainly in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, but also in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

game management In American football, a game manager is a quarterback who, despite pedestrian individual statistics such as passing yards and touchdowns, also maintains low numbers of mistakes, such as interceptions and fumbles. Such a quarterback is seen as a ...

. Over a hundred dissertations and theses dealing with one aspect or the other of the Montmorency Forest have been deposited at the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University Laval since the creation of the experimental station.

Sustainable development

The Montmorency Forest is exploited for its forest resources according to the principles of a versatile and sustainable management. Cuts with soil protection () of limited dimensions are practiced gradually and irregularly, so that the forest presents a mosaic of stands of different ages. Special care is taken to protect

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

during operations logging.

Outdoor activities

In winter,

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

is practiced from the beginning of November. The thick layer of snow also makes the forest an excellent place for

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

. In summer, hiking and fishing are common activities.