Natural Features

Mont Cascades is probably the most widely and heavily used recreational hill in the Outaouais and as such is challenged in maintaining its many natural attributes. The distant vistas and its extraordinary biodiversity have long been one of the attractions of hiking the hill and it is hoped that ecologically important areas will have its functions protected and conserved for future understanding and enjoyment..

Its ecosystem is part of a regional system connected to the Gatineau Park that provides unique greenspace for a great variety of local flora and fauna that are so uniquely situated in close proximity of over 1 million people. It is believed that Mont Cascades likely provides important environmental services to life along the Gatineau River as the Eardley Escarpment does for the Ottawa River. The challenge for the environmental management of the hill is to demonstrate that it can become a model of innovative conservation practice and sustainable land use even while continuing to be a thriving recreational hub.

Mont Cascades has been the benefactor of having a steep rugged landscape that has discouraged the early years of logging thus resulting in today's presence of some very old and diverse trees and their associated biodiversity.. Knowing more about these natural features is important if the hill is to be managed in an environmental sustainable way hence the hope for a comprehensive environmental assessment that can be used in a hill management strategy that supports recreational and environment enjoyment.

Some very tentative steps, illustrated below, have been undertaken by local field naturalists that now needs to be further developed with a more comprehensive assessment.

Birds of Mont Cascades

The hill's proximity to the Gatineau River, its approximate height of 165 meter (540 feet) and its diverse vegetation of trees and grass seems to have made it attractive to a great variety of species. For instance a 4 hour survey in June 2018 identified 36 bird species.

To date the most unique resident bird has been a Black-billed Cuckoo which in Canada is a candidate species for assessment under the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). A pair sighted on June 7, 2018 at the top of the hill were carrying food - with a bit of observation one might have been able to pinpoint the nest. Check out this Canadian Wildlife Service species account for more background.

Black-billed Cuckoo - photo, Marc Grégoire, 2016

List of birds sightings

1. 2013-16 observations and photos - Marc Grégoire

2. whipoorwill heard by John Almstedt, summer 2016 and Marc Grégoire, 4:00 a.m. 5/30/2018

3. 2010-11, Diane St-Jacques and Richard Fournier list of Mont Cascades sightings.

petit garrot = Bufflehead

bernaches du Kanada = Canada Goose

harle couronnée = Hooded Merganser

paruline a flanc marron = Chestnut-sided Warbler

paulien masquée = Common Yellowthroat

passerine indigo = Indigo Bunting

pluvier kildir = Killdeer

moucherolle Tchébec = Least Flycatcher

moucherolle phébi = Eastern Phoebe

Mésange à tête noire = Black-capped Chickadee

urubu a tete rouge = Turkey Vulture

petite buse = Borad-winged Hawk

pic flamboyant = Northern Flicker

grive solitaire = Hermit Thrush

pic chevelu = Hairy Woodpecker

pic mineur = Downy Woodpecker

grand pic = Pileated Woodpecker

paulien tigrée = Cape May Warbler

viréo aux yeux rouges = Red-eyed Vireo

roselin pourpré = Purple Finch

corneille d’Amérique = American Crow

grand corbeau = Common Raven

Chardonneret jaune = American Goldfinch

Sittelle a poitrine rousse = Red-brested Nuthatch

Jaseur d‘Amérique = Cedar Waxwing

Merle d’Amérique = American Robin

Bruant chanteur = Song Sparrow

Roitelet à couronne dorée = Golden-crowned Kinglet

geai bleu = Blue Jay

grèbe jouerais = Red-necked Grebe (?)

4. June 7, 2018 - ebird 36 sightings (Led by Constance Downes, participants: Max Finkelstein, Dave Macdonald, Jennifer Leichnitz, David Snider, John Almstedt)

Mammals

The various species of mammals on the hill at various times of the year appears to be representative of those living throughout the Outaouais..

photos, Marc Grégoire

Summer 2016 - Mark Mueller caught a fawn and its mother separated by Chemin Panoramique where upon the fawn tried to make itself inconspicuous by lying down.

Reptiles

1. Summer 2016 - Snapping turtle at Mark Mueller's Mont Cascades cottage.

Amphibians

(to come)

Geology

The Gatineau Hills are remnants of Quebec's ancient Grenville (or Laurentian) Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. These mountains, part of the vast Canadian Shield, may have once towered as high as today's Rockies! Their hard Precambrian rock, mainly granite and gneiss, has been worn down by a billion years of erosion. The impressive Eardley Escarpment, which forms the southwestern border of Gatineau Park, is part of a major geological fault along the southern margin of the Canadian Shield. The Lusk Caves on the Eardley Plateau were formed in deposits of metamor phosed limestone (marble) lying upon the older Precambrian rock. 1