Mont Saint Hilaire Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 1978, in Canada. Located about 32 km east of Montreal, Mont Saint-Hilaire is a steep-sided circular formation rising some 250 m above the Saint Lawrence plain. It is one of the last remnants of old-growth deciduous forest in Quebec and hosts many rare and endangered species. The biosphere reserve lies near a major urban region. Increasing urban development around Mont Saint-Hilaire, together with a growing number of visitors, has multiplied human disturbances and fragmented the forest, which once covered the entire Richelieu Valley. Tourism and agriculture are important contributors to the economies of the five towns that form part of the transition area.