Department of Biology

Potential users should contact:
Dr. Gregor Fussmann, Scientific Director
Gault Nature Reserve
McGill University, Department of Biology
Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1
(514) 398-1370; Fax: (514) 398-5069
gregor.fussmann@mcgill.ca

Gault House
Tel.: 450-467-4010 | Fax: 450-467-8015
For reservations: Martin Duval (450)-467-1755

The Gault Nature Reserve covers over 1000 ha of Mont St. Hilaire, a plutonic extrusion in the St. Lawrence Valley, just southeast of Montreal, 40 minutes from campus. The reserve provides access to an extensive, old-growth beech-maple forest, a small lake, a number of streams and an old-field site for ecological research and teaching. The site is the largest remaining remnant of the primeval forests of the St. Lawrence River Valley. There is a Research Centre on site with laboratory and residence space for up to 24. There is also a dormitory and conference facility suitable for teaching and workshops up to 32 participants.

Access to the site is controlled and half of the mountain is reserved for long term monitoring and experiments requiring minimal human disturbance; the other half of the mountain, which has a 25 km trail system, is open to both public and university use. The mountain and its surroundings comprise the Mont St. Hilaire Biosphere Reserve, part of an ecologically international network of exceptional sites protected for future generations.