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Franklin today
Our Municipality offers a living environment of a unique quality where nature and respect for the environment are paramount. It is a place where it is good to live and where everyone finds their place, whether young or older. The municipal council gives family and seniors a place of choice, the family being recognized as representing the wealth of the community.
Ask the Franklinoises what they like about their municipality; they will tell you from the outset about the beauty of the landscapes, Covey Hill and the breathtaking views it offers, and especially about the exceptional quality of life they have. Not surprisingly, people from all walks of life choose Franklin as their home. Whether they are working or retired, sports and outdoor enthusiasts, self-employed at home or entrepreneurs, it is in Franklin that they find their happiness. The region, interesting and inviting, attracts more and more investors.
If you believe the proverb “It takes a whole village to grow a child”, then Franklin is a great place to raise your family.
The heart of agritourism
During the summer season (from May to mid-October), the municipality has approximately 15,000 residents, mainly from Camping du Lac-des-Pins, the second largest in Quebec, as well as the Ecology and Naturist Centre (La Pommerie) where the residents live naked, in contact with nature,with respect for each other, in a site considered one of the most beautiful in Quebec.
The Municipality, being an integral part of the Farmers’ Circuit in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, you will enjoy the most beautiful rural and pastoral landscapes of the Montérégie, while discovering unique products. The Circuit du Paysan is recognized as one of the best gourmet routes in the province. Several themes and activities are held from May to October.
Picking berries and apples, vineyards and cideries, cheese and deli shops, honey and mead, livestock farms and lavender production are the main star products.
Discover
Franklin portrait
Franklin is a municipality located in the Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent in Montérégie and is part of the Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Haut-Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Located near the American border giving access to New York State, its area is 113 square kilometers. Franklin extends to Covey Hill, where the ground level rises from 100 m to 320 m from north to south, where it is irrigated by the East Bustard River and Mitchell Creek.
The municipality includes about 1765 Franklinoises and Franklinois and 90% of its 11,219 hectares are in agricultural area. The forest potential is also significant as almost half of the territory is under forest cover.
The Franklin landscape is characterized by the abundance and beauty of orchards and maple groves, the presence of small stone walls along highway 202 (panoramic) that crosses the territory, and its rich built heritage and several centuries-old churches.
Today, the municipality has two post offices, a recreation and community centre, two elementary schools (École Centrale Saint-Antoine-Abbé de langue Française and Franklin Elementary School de langue Anglaise), two low-cost housing units, three daycares (CPE) including one reserved for employees of the largest employer in the MRC, Les Vergers Leahy / Leahy Orchards, a processing plant with its own trademark (Applesnax / DéliPomme). There is also a century-old artisan baker, a few restaurants and a micro-brewery.
Designated as a rural centre, the Franklin territory includes the Pin-Rigide Ecological Reserve, the largest known Rigid Pine tree territory in Quebec, and the Franklin Woodlot, a concentration area for white-tailed deer (see biodiversity section).
To get to Franklin, take Route 201 via Route 138, Routes 209 and 202 can also be taken depending on your place of origin.
Access to the United States is via Highway 209 and it is the American city of Churubusco that is adjacent to Franklin, at the entrance of New York State.
Biodiversity
The municipality of Franklin has the largest number of wetlands in the Haut-Saint-Laurent RCM and its territory is crossed by several rivers including the Rivière aux Outardes, the Black River and Mitchell, Grimshaw and Brand creeks.
Pin-Rigide Ecological Reserve
This ecological reserve, occupies an area of 63.1 hectares and protects a Rigid Pine forest, a species designated as “threatened” since 2005. This is the only known territory of significant size in Quebec.
The site is characterized by a coarse, acidic and generally very thin substrate (layer of soil that supports life). The rocky outcrops, bare or covered with a very thin humus (the dark organic matter in soil), occupy spatially, more than three quarters of the area of the ecological reserve.
A Unique Habitat for a Rare Species in Quebec: The Pin-Rigide Ecological Reserve
Rigid pine is well suited to this type of environment. It forms a group whose physiognomy (shape of the plant) and floristic composition (variety of species in the area) vary according to the thickness of the substrate and its drainage. For example, very thin soil (less than 10 centimeters), dry and poor in nutrients, supports an open stand with stunted trees. Although Rigid Pine is not considered a large tree, its dimensions are much more interesting in deeper soils. It is not uncommon to encounter 45-year-old trees reaching a diameter of about 25 centimeters and a height of 10 to 12 meters.
The flora (selection of plants) of the pine forest is rather poor; 68 vascular species (complex plants) and 24 non vascular species (simple plants) have been identified. These species include Virginia Bartonia, which is classified as “threatened or endangered”.
The fauna (selection of animals) is also quite little diversified. However, there are three species at risk; the Chorus Frog (designated “endangered”), the Four-toed Salamander, and the Short-billed Wren, both of which may be designated as “threatened or endangered”.
Covey Hill, an iconic natural heritage site
Cypripède acaule, Covey Hill (NCC photo)
Located near the American border, Covey Hill rises more than 340 meters above sea level and overlooks the valley of the Châteauguay River. This large forest massif mainly straddles the territory of the municipalities of Havelock and Franklin in Montérégie and extends even into New York State. Covey Hill is a natural gem with idyllic scenery, clear water streams, rich woodlands, charming orchards and vineyards.
This natural environment, of inestimable ecological value, offers refuge to many rare plants and animals. It provides habitat for large-range mammals such as bobcats, fishers and black bears. In addition, the site is home to the largest variety of salamanders in Quebec. A dozen different species inhabit this territory, including the Mountain Dusky Salamander, which lives in only two places in Canada, at Covey Hill and near the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario.
The special features of Covey Hill
One of the peculiarities of this site is the presence of a bog of about 55 hectares at its top. It stores rainwater in Sphagnum Moss layers that have accumulated for nearly 15,000 years. As a result, it helps maintain the flow of the many surrounding streams during dry periods, while influencing the water cycle throughout the Châteauguay River watershed.
This site is also important for the recharge of the regional aquifer, the permeable hydrogeological formation that maintains a groundwater table (filters water into the underground water table). Many municipalities depend on it for their drinking water supply. It is therefore an ecosystem of great ecological value that deserves to be known and preserved.
Contribute to the maintenance of this rich biodiversity
Several non intensive agricultural activities are practiced on the hill. Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) supports landowners who want to contribute to the protection of this exceptional ecosystem by ensuring sound management of the forest and waterways on their property. Through conservation agreements, donations and property sales to NCC, families have been able to help protect 683 hectares of Covey Hill for the benefit of present and future generations.
Spring salamander
Spring salamander
In Québec, in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, nestled on Covey Hill, is home to a population of a very special species: the Spring Salamander.
This nocturnal amphibian is the largest of the lungless salamanders, animals that need a moist habitat for skin respiration. The Spring Salamander can be up to 20 centimeters long and prefers fresh, clear streams fed by springs for its habitat. Its survival is “threatened” when these rivers become disturbed by sedimentation and their well-oxygenated water becomes polluted.
The Spring Salamander hunts at night, often feeding on other smaller salamander species. It can escape its main predator, trout, by taking refuge on land.
Only a few populations of the Spring Salamander are known in Canada; the species is listed as COSEWIC Special Concern. On Covey Hill, a northern extension of the Adirondack Mountains in Canada, NCC and its partners are actively working to protect its habitat.
The region’s extensive peat bogs, pine barrens and natural springs are essential for the Spring Salamander and a number of other plant and animal species at risk. Other Appalachian Salamanders reaching the northern limit of their territory include the Four-toed Salamander and the endangered Mountain Dusky Salamander.
They share the region with the Twin-Bladed Utricularia, a rare plant in Quebec, bird species such as wild turkey and Cooper’s hawk, as well as mammals such as bobcats and black bears.