Home About CPAWS-OV News Centre Help Us! Contact Us   Français
CONSERVATION & CAMPAIGNS
   
EASTERN WOODLANDS
   
 

Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A)
  Dumoine River
 

Quebec Protected Areas Strategy

Greenbelt

Rural Lands
  Eastern Wolf
   
PARKS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

 
 

Algonquin Park

Gatineau Park
 

Parks Management Planning
   
GET INVOLVED...
   

Take Action!
 

Events
 

 
 

 
 

 

  
SUPPORT CPAWS
 

 

Become a Member/Donate

Volunteer
 

 
 
 
   
   

GATINEAU PARK

What does Gatineau Park mean to you?

We have a unique opportunity, in the next few weeks, to protect Gatineau Park. As you may know, Gatineau Park is the only federal park in Canada not managed by Parks Canada and the park's boundaries have never been set in law, and, as such, portions of the park have been sold or used for housing development, construction of shopping centres and new roads. We are asking the Minister responsible for Gatineau Park, the honourable Lawrence Cannon, to introduce legislation to recognize the park's boundaries and to take steps to protect the park's rich, but threatened ecosystems. For your convenience, a sample letter (in Word format) may be found by clicking here. You may send it by email, fax or by regular mail (addresses on the letter). Please send a copy to CPAWS Ottawa Valley by email: jmcdonnell@cpaws.org.

A treasure to protect

Gatineau Park is one of the defining features of the National Capital region - a priceless natural jewel.

  • 363 square kilometres of wilderness
  • 118 rare or endangered species 
  • 50 lakes

Unfortunately, Gatineau Park is a park in name only.  It has no legal protection and its ecosystems are being threatened by widespread development.

Did you know...?
  • Gatineau Park has the greatest diversity of habitats of any park in Quebec, with the largest number of endangered species.  It is a park of national importance that includes forests, lakes, streams, peat bogs, swamps, and the fragile Eardley escarpment.
  • The eastern wolf, black bear, beaver, lynx, fisher, northern flying squirrel, white-tailed deer, and otter can all be found within its boundaries, along with 230 species of birds and over 1000 species of plants.
       
       
  • Gatineau Park provides unsurpassed recreational opportunities on over 200 kilometres of hiking and ski trails and 125 kilometres of bike trails, only minutes from Parliament Hill.

Gatineau Park is a major wilderness area subject to the challenges of urban pressures, with a population of over one million people on its doorstep.

Although Gatineau Park belongs to the federal government, it does not have the permanent legal protection provided to "real" national parks.  Instead, it is managed by the National Capital Commission whose primary interest is in developing urban federal properties such as Sparks Street and the Lebreton Flats.

The most serious threat to the park is fragmentation by roads, hydro corridors and other incremental development.  Yet more roads are being planned and built, with little consideration to the long-term impacts of these developments.  The misplaced priority on development will result in a loss of species and will ultimately spoil the park's recreational value.

Bill C-37

On October 19, 2009 CPAWS Ottawa Valley appeared before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to provide committee members with comments on Bill C-37, An Act to Amend the National Capital Act and other Acts as it relates to Gatineau Park. Click here to view the submission to the Committee.

CPAWS-OV has called on the Government of Canada to:

  • define Gatineau Park's boundaries in legislation.
  • establish Gatineau Park as a national park under the Canada National Parks Act.

For more information on the Gatineau Park campaign or to get involved, please contact Muriel How - Committee Chair at mahow@magma.ca or by phone at (819) 827-1274.


TOP

Press Conference Photo:


TOP

Reports:

Gatineau Park: A Threatened Treasure

Gatineau Park is a national treasure — a beautiful wilderness with extraordinary biodiversity. Sadly, the park’s ecological integrity is seriously threatened by human activities both inside and outside the park.

This booklet highlights some of the qualities that make Gatineau Park so special. It explains how the park is seriously threatened, and what must be done to protect it for future generations of Canadians.

Report - PDF


TOP

 

Documents:


TOP

Image credit (banner):
Marc Gravel