Thomas-Fortin Ecological Reserve

IUCN Category Ia - Strict Nature Reserve

Thomas Fortin area in the Grands- Jardins Park, summer 2008

The Réserve écologique Thomas Fortin is furnished in 1990, 117.86 hectares of protected area in the south of the Canadian province of Quebec in the MRC Charlevoix.

It is located 50 km north- west of Baie -Saint -Paul and east of Parc national des Grands- Jardins. It is part of over 7,800 km ² Réserve faunique des Laurentides, species protection area for the Laurentian mountains. The reserve represents the higher elevations of this mountain range. It had escaped at the time of the parking facility of the approximately 250,000 ha of forest in the region barely 10,000 of deforestation, of which the greater part of the upper valley of the Rivière Malbaie, where is the small sanctuary today.

The hilly and steep in places, reserve is located 860-1030 m above sea level. The rock consists mainly of granite, is about a thin layer of tillite, which is very thick in the lower layers. Some sinks offer strong layers of organic material. The podzol ( bleach or gray earth) is moist and rich in iron, there are small Moore of low height.

Most tree species are black spruce, paper birch and white spruce.

Was named the reserve after Thomas Fortin (1858-1941), one of the best connoisseurs of forest areas, which had in 1895 proposed the creation of the Parc des Laurentides. He was on his first Inspector, a task which he held for over four decades.