Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

The Appalachian Range stretches from Georgia in the United States to the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec.  The Sutton Mountain range is a key link in that chain of mountains, extending virtually from the Township of Sutton, from whence its name, to the Chaudière region of Quebec.  In the Sutton range, Round Top (or Mount Sutton) is the highest elevation in the Range at nearly 962 meters.  The other main summits are: Mont Gagnon, 853 meters; Mount Echo and Glen Mountain, 746 meters; Foster Mountain, 701 meters; and Boyce Mountain, at 686 meters.  These upfolded mountains were formed in a period of great volcanic activity many millennia ago.  The Mount Sutton Ski complex is located in the heart of the Sutton Mountain range, a large portion of which is now protected by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

In 2001, with assistance from Appalachian Corridor, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) made an initial purchase of 1,140 acres (460 hectares) in the Sutton Mountain Range, funded by partners that included the Fondation Hydro-Québec pour l'environnement.  In 2004, following a major mobilization of the community, former Domtar-owned lands were acquired.  A special financial contribution by the Government of Quebec and those from numerous private donors greatly aided the acquisition.

Other acquisitions followed, establishing the largest area of private land in Quebec dedicated to conservation.  The Réserve naturelle des Montagnes-Vertes now stretches over 16,060 acres (6,500 hectares).  The conservation work extends beyond the nature reserve, thanks to the participation of 14 conservation groups that collectively protect more than 24,710 acres (10,000 hectares) of land in the Appalachian corridor^[1], among which Potton's Ruiter Valley Trust otherwise known as the Réserve écologique de la Vallée-du-Ruiter.

In June 2012, the conservation of 765 acres (309 hectares) of exceptional forest habitat on Burnt Mountain in the municipality of Sutton along the Vermont border thus linked conservation areas of the Northern Green Mountains in Vermont with those located in southern Quebec, such as found in Potton.  The area is the first Quebec-Vermont trans-boundary forest corridor conserved.  One of the conservation partners integral to the project was Potton's own Bois Champigny, a large sawmill and finishing plant, located on Route 243 north.