Sector 1: Intact Forest

Sector 1 is the Meredith Forest located to the northwest of the lot (this sector is north of the road leading to the old quarry which practically divides the lot in two. This forested sector comprises 34.2 acres of pristine, healthy, mature mixed forest consisting primarily of conifers, maples, beech and some birch, carpeted by beds of wild garlic in the spring.

The area includes numerous marshes and small streams running down from the top of the hill to the river. Several trails criss-cross this section. Wildlife is active and diverse with deer, bears, and foxes with their young fawns, cubs, and kits, as well as a variety of woodland birds and vulnerable chorus frogs and painted turtles, all of which frequent the permanent pools and seasonal streams. At the extreme northern north end there is a permanent stream that is a boundary to the forest entering at a culvert under Rte 105.

The forest is not considered “Old Growth”, but it is a large intact forest as old as any of the woodlands that have grown since the entire Gatineau River was cut over by the first-European settlers to this area.