In the 1960s, a small reserve was created outside the alpine village of
Argentière. In 1968, the Aiguilles Rouges mountain range became a
game reserve. At the insistence of Jean Eyherald, the
priest of Argentière, and a geologist, Yvonne Gubler, an observation site for the Alps was installed above Argentière. Accessible via
chairlift, it became difficult to access following an accident. A site at the Col des Montets (a mountain pass) was chosen. In 1971 with the support of
mountaineer Maurice Herzog,
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and
Vallorcine created
la réserve intercommunale du col des Montets (Intercommunal reserve of the Col des Montets). The reserve was created by
ministerial decree on 1974-08-24. It covers in the communes of
Chamonix and
Vallorcine. The nature reserve is managed by the ASTERS association, which is responsible for all the nature reserves in Haute-Savoie. Since 2006 the reserve has been under consideration for either declassification or reclassification, because of contention over a private landowner not being covered under the constitution in 1974. The reserve was reclassified on 2010-01-27 by a new ministerial decree, after a public inquiry. The nature reserve is adjacent to two others: •
Vallon de Bérard National Nature Reserve, established in 1992 in Vallorcine •
Carlaveyron National Nature Reserve, established in 1991, situated near the
Gorges de la Diosaz in
Les Houches In the reserve one can find typical mountainous plant and animal species, such as
Alpine ibex,
chamois,
rock ptarmigan,
golden eagle,
Rhododendron, and
heather. Multiple lakes are situated within the nature reserve, including
Lac Blanc,
Lac Noir,
Lac Cornu, and
Lac du Brévent. ==Visitor information==