Gatineau Park

OVERVIEW

Latest News

• Our position on the major conservation issues facing Gatineau Park.
• Read our submission on the draft 2020 Gatineau Park Master Plan here.  
• Read our brief on the July 2020 draft Gatineau Park Master Plan. Click here.
• Sign and share our petition calling on the House of Commons to amend the National Capital Act to grant Gatineau Park the same protections as those afforded to our National Parks. You can return your completed petitions to the CPAWS-OV office or to any federal Member of Parliament. Click here.
• Press Release – CPAWS-OV congratulates Hull-Aylmer Member of Parliament, Greg Fergus, for tabling our petition calling on the House of Commons to grant Gatineau Park the same protections as our national parks. Click here.
• Read the Government response to our previous petition here 
• Read our Response to the March 2017 NCC Gatineau Park Visitor and Economic Impact Study
• Read our Position Statement! Learn more about our recommendations to protect Gatineau Park: Click here
• Show your support on your next hike! Get your “Make it a Real Park” t-shirt. click here to visit our online store
• We’re on Instagram! Follow @makeitarealpark for great photos and recent updates
• Ottawa Citizen (Aug 2016): Lopoukhine: Let’s make Gatineau Park a real park
• ICI Radio-Canada (Jul 2016): Le débat sur la protection du parc de la Gatineau est relancé
• Green Living Ottawa (Mar 2016): Help Protect Gatineau Park
• Metro News Ottawa (Jan 2016): Group renews effort to make Gatineau Park a national park

The Park

Did you know? Gatineau Park is at risk!
You may be surprised to find out that Gatineau Park is a park in name only.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Gatineau Park. Rich in biodiversity, Gatineau Park is comprised of 361 square kilometers of wilderness, 118 rare or endangered species, and 50 lakes! Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the opportunities that Gatineau Park provides for all sorts of activities, including hiking, cross-country skiing, camping, paddling, and rock climbing. 

Most of Gatineau Park belongs to the federal government and the National Capital Commission (NCC) manages the land, but it does not have the permanent legal protection provided to “real” national parks.
Without governing legislation and full parliamentary oversight, the same oversight given to all our Canadian national parks under the National Parks Act, portions of the park will continue to be subjected to use for housing development, the construction of shopping centres, and the creation of new roads as in the past.

Gatineau Park has the potential to become a core protected area within a much larger region that protects natural ecosystems and maintains viable populations of all native species. It is important that the lands surrounding the Park are properly managed to allow for corridors and connections with other natural areas.

CPAWS-OV is calling on Parliament to:

• Establish Gatineau Park in legislation and dedicate it to future generations
• Ensure that the priority of the Park’s management be conservation and ecological integrity;
• Stipulate that changes to Gatineau Park boundaries can only be made by parliamentary approval, as is the case for Canada’s national parks

CPAWS-OV is calling on the municipalities which border Gatineau Park to:

• actively participate in the protection of Gatineau Park
• consider the ecological integrity and benefits of having a healthy, beautiful park in their backyard when planning development
• create wildlife corridors and buffer zones in their areas of jurisdiction

CPAWS-OV is calling on the NCC to:

• Manage the park as an IUCN Class II protected area
• Stop all new roads and development inside the Park
• Acquire critical or ecologically sensitive lands around the park to serve as a buffer zone
• Work with local municipalities to define and establish viable ecological corridors between the park and surrounding lands

OVERVIEW

Gatineau Park is very popular because of its tranquility and natural beauty. However, even regular visitors may be unaware of its unusual diversity of habitats, plants and animals. This amazing biodiversity is largely because Gatineau Park lies in the transition zone between the boreal forest of the Canadian Shield to the north and the eastern temperate forest of the St. Law rence Lowlands to the south. Species typical of both zones live in the park, resulting in an interesting blend of species not commonly found elsewhere in Canada. Gatineau Park provides habitat for 27% of all of the plant and verte brate species found in Canada, and more than 40% of those found in Quebec and Ontario. Probably no other park in Canada of comparable size is so rich with flora and fauna.

FLORA

The distribution of plant species within Gatineau Park is determined by several factors, including microclimate, topography and geology. The carbonate-rich soils common in the park support a rich diversity of plants.

Nearly 90% of the park is forested, presenting some of the most ecologically diverse woodlands in central Canada. An afternoon’s walk can take the hiker through deciduous-dominated forests of sugar maple, American beech, yel low birch and eastern hemlock, then through coniferous-dominated black spruce and balsam fir forests typically asso ciated with the boreal forest. Red and white oaks dominate along the steep slopes of the Eardley Escarpment.

Remnant stands of the park’s original mature white pine forests are very rare, as most of these magnificent trees were harvested for the square timber trade in the 1800s. Similarly, small virgin stands of white spruce and balsam fir are found only in a few remote locations. Virgin stands of eastern hemlock are also rare, but can be found on some cool, north-facing slopes. Maintaining the health of these species is very important, as they contain the genetic diversity of the once-vast forests of the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

More than 1100 species of vascular plants have been documented in Gatineau Park. Notable are the more than 40 species of orchids, including showy lady’s slipper, green adder’s mouth, grass pink and rose pogonia. Many orchids thrive in the wet, rich environ ment of marshes, fens and bogs.

AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS

As important as its forests are, it is water that underpins Gatineau Park’s ecology. The park is dotted with some 50 lakes, the largest being La Pêche, Philippe, Mousseau (Harrington) and Meech. The latter three form a chain of lakes through the centre of the park and drain through Meech Creek Valley to the Gatin eau River. The park also has many streams, ponds and wetlands.

Pink Lake is a fine example of a rare meromictic lake; the lake’s bowl-like shape and its sheltered location prevent its waters from intermixing. At its greatest depth, the lake is almost oxygen-free, and supports an an aerobic bacterium whose photosyn thetic process uses sulphur instead of oxygen. The lake, once part of the Champlain Sea, is also home to a unique freshwater population of the saltwater threespine stickleback fish.

The numerous marshes and bogs provide critical feeding and breed ing habitat for many insects, inver tebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Wetlands are among the world’s most productive ecosystems, producing as much biomass per hectare as a tropical rainforest. Wetlands store rainfall then slowly release it to meet downstream needs, such as those of plants and animals during dry spells. They also serve as a natural “water treatment system,” improving water quality by filtering, diluting and degrading various sediments and pollutants.

Over 50 species of fish have been inventoried in park waters. Several salmonid species such as lake trout, speckled trout and lake whitefish are native. At least 12 species were introduced by people; these include popular sport fish such as smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, and brown trout. Sport fishing is regulated through provincial legislation.

MAMMALS

Gatineau Park provides habitat to many mammals typical of Canada’s wilderness, such as river otter, snowshoe hare, red fox, moose, coyote, wolf, beaver, raccoon, white-tailed deer and black bear. Wolverine and Eastern Cougar occur here, but are rarely seen.

Perhaps the most influential mammal in Gatineau Park is the beaver, which plays a major ecological role by flooding habitats, changing the flow of streams, and modifying plant communities. Evidence of such beaver activity is com mon throughout the park. Once plentiful, by 1930 beaver populations in eastern Canada had declined to low levels due to excessive harvesting for the animal’s fur. To restore the local population, breeding pairs were reintroduced into Gatin eau Park. Since the 1950s, beavers have once again become widespread and abundant in the park.

Some 200 black bears live in Gatineau Park. These omnivores require sig nificant space to maintain a viable population. Forested natural landscapes and networks of protected areas are critical to the continued survival of this important native species. Bears play an important role in dispersing seeds.

The population of white-tailed deer in the park and surrounding rural areas has increased markedly in the past several decades. The species is over-abundant relative to the park’s ability to sustain the population. An estimated 1200 deer were resident in the park in the spring of 2005, 50% above the park’s “carrying capacity.” The high number of deer is manifested in the heavy browsing of vegetation along the Eardley Escarpment, severely impacting the natural regeneration of its red and white oak forest. The main predator of deer in the park is the wolf; unfortunately Gatineau Park is not large enough, is too fragmented, and has too many disturbances to sustain a wolf population large enough to control the burgeoning deer population.

Gatineau Park was made a provincial game reserve in 1973 and is shown as the Parc de la Gatineau Game Sanctuary in the Conservation and Develop ment of Wildlife Act (October 2007). This is very significant since all hunt ing is prohibited therein.

BIRDS

About 230 species of birds have been observed in Gatineau Park. The forests are alive with ruffed grouse, pileated woodpeckers, white-throated spar rows and nuthatches. The lakes and ponds provide habitat for great blue herons, wood ducks, buffleheads and hooded mergansers, while other species, such as the Virginia rail, live in the extensive cattail and sedge marshes. Many migratory song birds, including warblers, sparrows and thrushes, also nest in the park.

Eagles, hawks and owls are signifi cant top avian predators in the park. Turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks and broad-winged hawks soar over the Eardley Escarpment, looking for prey or carrion. Vultures clean up deer carcasses left by wolves and other predators. Great horned owls and barred owls hunt along swamps and forest edges.

SPECIES OF CONSERVATION CONCERN

Gatineau Park is home to 125 species of plants and animals that are of con servation concern in Quebec. Twenty-three of these species are also listed as endangered in Canada by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). This Government of Canada committee of experts assesses and designates which species are in danger of disappearing from Canada.

Of the 125 species of conservation concern in Gatineau Park, 90 are plants—a number higher than for any protected area in the province. These include wild ginger, wild leek, blunt-lobed woodsia fern, and ram’s-head lady’s slipper orchid. Seven of the 90 plant species are trees: white oak, swamp white oak, eastern red cedar, black maple, common hackberry (or sugarberry), butternut and rock elm. These tree species are of particular interest because they are all near the northern limit of their natural range. Ram’s-head lady’s slipper and butternut are also listed by COSEWIC as endangered species. More than 40 plant species of conservation concern are concentrated on the dry, south-fac ing slopes of the Eardley Escarpment. For example, along the escarpment live more than 80% of all eastern red cedar trees found in Quebec.

Three Gatineau Park fish species —margined madtom, bridle shiner and brassy minnow—are of conservation concern. The park is also home to a significant number of nationally important reptiles that are considered to be of conservation concern, including the milk snake, ringneck snake, common map turtle and blandings turtle. The blandings turtle is listed by COSEWIC as endangered.

Thirteen species of birds observed in the park are of conservation concern; these include the golden eagle, red-headed woodpecker, least bittern and loggerhead shrike. The southern flying squirrel, wolverine, eastern cougar and eastern wolf are four of the ten park mammal species of conservation concern. The loggerhead shrike, wolverine and cougar are also listed by COSEWIC as endangered in Canada.

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.

*from Gatineau Park: A Threatened Treasure

OVERVIEW

Archaeological evidence indicates that Algonquin people settled in the Ottawa Valley about 4000 years ago. For millennia, ecosystems evolved naturally; this changed with the coming of Europeans. Samuel de Champlain and other French explorers arrived in the early 1600s, soon followed by trappers and fur traders. The 1800s brought huge changes to the Gatineau Hills ecosystems: the forests were extensively logged, roads were built, land was cleared for farming, and mines were dug. As the population of the region grew, so did public concern about deforestation.

Historical records indicate considerable interest in creating a park in the Gatineau Hills from the early 1900s. In his influential 1903 development plan for the Ottawa region, noted landscape architect Frederick Todd proposed a natural park. James Harkin, the first director of the newly-created Dominion Parks Branch, proposed in 1913 that Gatineau Park become Canada’s first national park beyond the Rocky Mountains! In 1915 Sir Herbert Holt, chair of the Federal Plan Commission, prepared a report urging the establishment of a wilderness park in the Gatineau Hills.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s tenth and longest-serving prime minister, was a key player in the creation of Gatineau Park. Between 1903 and 1927 he purchased 231 hectares of land around Kingsmere Lake to create his private summer estate. Although there was growing public interest in conservation, it had become more difficult to establish national parks due to landowner concerns and the need for federal-provincial agreement. However, in 1927 King’s government established the Federal District Commission (FDC), with powers to purchase land to create a public park in the Gatineau Hills.

During the Great Depression, large numbers of hardwoods were felled for firewood, and fires raged through the hills. One very concerned resident was Percy Sparks, an officer of the Federal Woodlands Preservation League, who lead a successful lobby against the rampant deforestation. He later became the chair of the FDC’s Gatineau Park Advisory Committee which sustained interest in creating a park through the 1930s and beyond.

Perhaps the most significant day in the history of Gatineau Park was July 1, 1938 when the MacKenzie King government gave royal assent to an appropriation of $100,000 “for the acquisition of land and surveys in connection with the national parkway in the Gatineau Valley adjacent to Ottawa.” This is believed to be the date when the creation of Gatineau Park began, as it started the process of assembling most of the publicly owned land that we have today.

Upon his death in 1950, King bequeathed his property at Kingsmere to Canada, for “a public park for the citizens of Canada …[to] be maintained as nearly as possible in their present state, that they will be developed as parkland, and they will form a wildlife sanctuary, and will continue to have the character of a natural forest reserve.” The Mackenzie King Estate became a core element of Gatineau Park.

In 1950 urban planner Jacques Gréber produced his authoritative report, A Plan for the National Capital. Gréber was influenced by Percy Sparks, and his plan included many ideas from the Gatineau Park Advisory Committee. The two most important recommendations were that Gatineau Park’s area should be expanded to 330 km2, and the park should be a public rather than a private reserve. Both recommendations were approved.

In 1958, a large portfolio of federally owned lands in the Ottawa-Gatineau region including Gatineau Park was placed under the control of the National Capital Commission (NCC). The NCC is a federal Crown corporation that operates at arm’s length from the federal government. Gatineau Park is managed much the same as other lands under the NCC’s mandate. The National Capital Act gives the NCC sweeping powers to manage, develop and even sell public lands as it sees fit.

Gatineau Park’s tentative status and the incremental development within its boundaries, have long concerned conservationists and area residents. The Ottawa Valley chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), then the National and Provincial Parks Association of Canada, was formed in 1970 in response to a plan for Gatineau Park that reversed decades of policy aimed at preserving the park. The concerted efforts of CPAWS and others were instrumental in halting this plan. CPAWS continues to push for legislation which would create Gatineau Park in the legal context, define the boundaries of the park, and protect its ecological integrity.

Even though Gatineau Park still does not have full legal status as a protected area, over the past century it has gained this status in the mind of the public. All Canadians expect Gatineau Park to be treated as though it were a national park, and managed with the same degree of diligence.

*from Gatineau Park: A Threatened Treasure

OVERVIEW

Over the centuries humans have impacted the landscape of Gatineau Park. We have done so by hunting, trapping, logging, farming, mining, and more recently by residential, commercial and recreational development.

These stresses generate a cumulative impact on the environment that is greater than the impact of any one or more individual stresses, degrading the park’s ecosystems.

URBANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Urbanization is the single greatest threat to the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park. The park is too small to ensure the long-term viability of certain species. Without a comprehensive land-use strategy for surrounding lands, the viability of Gatineau Park is in jeopardy. An additional 20,000 people are expected to populate the park periphery by 2020.

A critical problem for Gatineau Park is the absence of a buffer zone between the park and adjacent development. Because development has been allowed to proceed up to the park boundary, certain species that are sensitive to hu man presence avoid the park’s outer edges. This, in effect, shrinks the size of the park in terms of its value to these species. Conversely, large resident mammals such as moose and bear are increasingly seen in suburban Gatineau where expansion is steadily reducing the remaining buffer.

Urbanization has consumed a considerable amount of the natural and agri cultural lands around Gatineau Park, as well as ecological connectivity from the park to these lands. This threatens those species, notably large predators such as wolves and bears, that require a range larger than the park itself can provide. With increasing urbanization comes the very real threat that these species will eventually disappear from the park. Also, urbanization begets road development and the resultant stresses of habitat fragmentation and wildlife fatalities.

Development also occurs on the approximately 2% of Gatineau Park that is privately owned. This land involves some 200 properties which come under the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Chelsea, Gatineau, La Pêche, and Pontiac, not the NCC. The largest holdings are highly vulnerable to subdivision development. For example, several years ago the municipality of Chelsea approved an 18 house residential development on Carmen Road, south of Highway 105. Land was cleared and some roads built before project was halted and much of the land purchased by the NCC, thanks to public pressure from a coalition of CPAWS and other like-minded organizations and individuals.

Most private ownership is concentrated along the Meech Lake, Kingsmere Lake, and Chemin de la Montagne corridors. For many reasons, residential development does not conform with the zoning in Gatineau Park. More and bigger homes and associated boat houses have a permanent footprint. When trees are felled to make way for roads, driveways, yards and patios, erosion is inevitable. Runoff and waste water threaten water quality and aquatic habitats. Gardens, bird feeders and backyard composters attract wildlife, which often come into conflict with humans. Private ownership and development also affects the publics ability to fully enjoy the park due to access restrictions.

While urban encroachment is a grave concern, development within Gatineau Park itself is also a significant stress. These developments include new or expanded infrastructure to accommodate the increasing visitation, such as roads, parking lots, buildings, trails and ski lifts. The “institutional zone” along Boulevard Cité-des-Jeunes includes a government training centre, two colleges, a secondary school, and a municipal sports centre – all uses of park land extraneous to the park’s mission.

ROADS AND TRAFFIC

Forty km of parkways and more than 60 km of local municipal roads cut into or through Gatineau Park. The road network is concentrated in the south, closest to the urban center. In the past 25 years several new roads have been built, including the high-speed St. Raymond Boulevard, which bisects the park, and a new access road to Mackenzie King Estate. The long-fought extension to McConnell-Laramée Boulevard, now known as Boulevard des Allumettières, cuts a wide swath through the park near Lac des Fées and opened to traffic in late 2007. Autoroute 5 is presently being extended along the eastern boundary of the park. Many other roads have been widened or otherwise upgraded. Unfortunately, even more roads are planned. Looming as a further threat to the park’s ecological integrity is the potential extension of Autoroute 50 through the park south of Pink Lake.

In addition to negatively impacting visitor enjoyment of the park, roads and road traffic have many serious ecological impacts. In Gatineau Park, the two most serious are wildlife fatalities and habitat fragmentation.

Wildlife fatalities: Animals large (deer) or small (mice), swift (coyotes) or slow (frogs) are routinely killed along roads, as a drive along any rural road illustrates. Most vulnerable are amphibians, snakes and turtles. Their life cycles often require them to migrate between wetland and upland habitats, and thus to cross roads. Higher traffic speeds result in higher mortality rates. A springtime walk along the roadways of Gatineau Park provides evidence of the high road mortality of frogs. Habitat fragmentation: Roads (as well as electricity corridors and other rights-of-way, and even trails) interfere with animal movement, separating populations and reducing genetic diversity. By cutting through and breaking up continuous tracts of habitat, roads reduce the amount of interior habitat available to species. The resultant smaller tracts of habitat may not be large enough to support some species. By opening up the forest canopy, roads create a new micro climate that may extend up to 200 m on either side of the roadway. These large strips of land along the roadsides will be sunnier and drier than the interior of the forest, and will favour weedy species that do not thrive in an intact forest. The habitat created by a road may also be more vulnerable to invasive species of plants or animals. The extensive network of roads in Gatineau Park has severely reduced the amount of interior habitat in some areas of the park and has seriously damaged their ecosystems.

RECREATIONAL USE

Gatineau Park’s natural beauty, its diverse recreational opportunities, and its proximity to Ottawa-Gatineau make it very attractive and accessible. The park currently draws an estimated 1.7 million visits annually, making it one of the most popular parks in Canada.

Visitors to Gatineau Park can participate in a wide variety of recreational activities. In spring, summer and fall they can access 165 km of hiking trails (90 km open to cyclists), 20 km of paved recreational pathways, seven self-guided interpretation trails, a mountain bike trail network, 14 picnic areas, six public beaches, two campgrounds and a number of canoe-camping sites. In winter they can enjoy 200 km of cross-country ski trails, 25 km of snowshoe trails, a downhill ski area and a biathlon training centre.

Recreational activities are concentrated in the south of the park. This area includes much of the park’s internal road network, many of its most impor tant cultural attributes, and major recreational infrastructure including Ski Camp Fortune. Recreational use is also concentrated around or adjacent to Pink, Meech, Philippe, Taylor and La Pêche lakes, and Luskville Falls. These areas of intense recreational activity, as well as the entire ecologically sensi tive Eardley Escarpment, experience considerable ecological stresses from recreation. Increased recreational use during peak visitation periods (e.g., Fall Rhapsody) further stress the park’s ecology. Whether strolling, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, cross-country ski ing, paddling or swimming, every visitor has an impact on the park — tram pled plants, compacted soil, erosion, spooked wildlife, litter, sunscreen washed into the water. Such seemingly small impacts, when multiplied by a million or more visitors each year, can cause considerable ecological change.

In addition to permitted activities, several inappropriate or unauthorized activities take place in the park. Snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and motorboats with two-stroke engines gener ate air, water and noise pollution, and stress wildlife and other park visitors. Cutting and using unofficial trails fragment and damage ecosystems and disturb wildlife. Bush parties leave a legacy of litter and tree damage.

To help safeguard Gatineau Park’s natural heritage, visitors must be cognizant of the impacts their activities can have on nature. All visitors should take individu al responsibility to minimize their ecological footprint.

INVASIVE SPECIES

The invasion of harmful non-native species is second only to habitat destruction in terms of impact on natural landscapes. In Canada’s national parks, invasive species have been the main cause of changes in species composition. Roads are the primary pathway for the inadvertent introduction and spread of non-native plant species into parks. People also introduce, deliberately or inadvertently, non-native plant and animal species without an understanding of the consequences.

In Gatineau Park, 37 plant species have been documented as non-native. Ten of these are considered to be “extremely invasive.” These include the infamous wetlands alien, purple loosestrife, and the lake-carpeting Eurasian water-milfoil. Both of these species severely threaten and reduce the diversity of native aquatic vegetation. Milfoil, which is currently pres ent in at least La Pêche and Philippe lakes, may also impact populations of fish species. Boating activity is a factor in the proliferation of these two highly invasive species. In woodland habitats, garlic mustard threatens native plant species. The introduction of non-native fish species has disrupted the natural ecology of many Gatineau Park lakes, and is likely responsible for the decline and loss of some native species. Sport fish species that have been introduced include north ern pike, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and yellow perch. Other species such as white sucker, pumpkinseed and fathead minnow, were likely introduced as bait fish. Although not yet present in the park, the extremely invasive zebra mussel remains a looming threat to the park’s aquatic ecosystems.

Gatineau Park is now home to several species of invasive birds, notably the European starling, American crow, common grackle and brown-headed cow bird. These opportunistic and competitive species are most common in open areas and forest edges, and often displace native species. The park’s extensive road network and urban encroachment have facilitated the proliferation of these species.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change will impact Gatineau Park’s ecology both directly and in directly in the coming decades. Projections for the Ottawa-Gatineau region suggest increased climate variability as well as more precipitation, heat waves and freezing rain events. Rising temperatures will force species to shift their ranges northwards, stress ing species adapted to cooler temperatures and significantly altering both the extent and composition of ecological communities. As habitat becomes less suitable for some spe cies, habitat loss will likely increase their risk of extinction, and a “greater park ecosystem” approach to park management will become critical.

Two other serious threats of climate change are the increased risks of wildfires and species invasions — for example, forest insects. Both will threaten biodiversity and the health of ecosystems. In addition, the park is expected to face increased stress through indirect effects of climate change. For example, as the winter season shortens, annual visitation is projected to increase, intensifying recreational stresses.

Ecosystem protection is an important buffer for climate change. Intact forests sequester carbon, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A LANDSCAPE VIEW

Small, isolated protected areas like Gatineau Park have limited ability to conserve biological diversity because development around the park does not allow sufficient habitat for large predators. The most effective way to protect biodiversity is through a network of protected areas, each surrounded by a buffer zone, with connectivity between protected areas and sustainable land uses on these intermediate lands. When protected areas are connected, wild life can migrate into and out of the protected areas to access food or secure nesting or denning sites.

The only viable way to counter the threat of urbanization around Gatineau Park is to plan and manage the surrounding landscape so critical lands and waters outside the park are protected from development and wildlife can roam between these lands and the park. While connectivity still exists across the rural landscape in many areas, such as along the Eardley Escarpment, it is rapidly disappearing in others. The NCC’s stated vision is to pre serve and support “viable levels of all the indigenous [native species] populations that were present in 2006,” and to increase “key species populations, especially species considered to be at risk.” To do this requires management of the greater ecosystem – in other words, planning and supporting conservation across a very large surrounding landscape. Unfortunately, the NCC presently does not have the capacity to do this. Moreover, Quebec conservation laws and hunting regulations provide little protection for preda tors that require large ranges, such as bears and wolves, in the regions surrounding Gatineau Park. National Park status for Gatineau Park would help to develop a greater ecosystem management approach, which would address the conservation needs of large predators and other wildlife.

Other opportunities for maintaining a healthy ecosystem should also be considered. For example, designating the Gatineau Hills as a UNESCO biosphere reserve would encourage local residents and organizations to develop, promote and organize projects linking conservation with social and economic develop ment in the region. Currently Canada has 13 such biosphere reserves, including Charlevoix and Lac St. Pierre in Quebec and Niagara Escarpment and Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch in Ontario.

*from Gatineau Park:A Threatened Treasure

HOW YOU CAN HELP

CPAWS-OV is calling on You to:

• Contact the Minister responsible for Gatineau Park, Anita Anand, and ask her to introduce legislation which creates Gatineau Park in the legal context, defines the boundaries of the park, and protects its ecological integrity.
• Contact your local MP and ask them to push the government to introduce legislation, and to support any legislation that creates Gatineau Park in the legal context.
• Contact the mayors of the Pontiac, La Peche, Chelsea, and the city of Gatineau, as well as your municipal councillor and ask them what they are doing to ensure that Gatineau Park has an adequate buffer zone and corridors linking it to other natural areas.
• Contact the NCC and express your concerns about the pressures facing Gatineau Park
• Take personal responsibility for your park. Tread lightly, report any inappropriate activities or damage in the park, and become actively involved when decisions are being made about the park or its surrounding lands.
• CPAWS-OV hosts information booths at Mountain Equipment Co-op, local fairs and festivals, and other shopping outlets throughout the year. Contact us at ov-outreach@cpaws.org to find out when we’ll be hosting a booth near you.
• As a non-profit organization, CPAWS-OV always welcomes new volunteers! If you would like to help us spread the word about our Gatineau Park campaign or become involved with the campaign committee, please contact us at ov-outreach@cpaws.org

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.
• In 1970 CPAWS-OV was founded specifically to fight for the protection of Gatineau Park. At that time the NCC development plan would have seen a series of roads, and even hotels, in the centre of the park. To learn more about the history of CPAWS-OV in Gatineau Park, click here.

RESOURCES

• Read our letter to the Minister responsible for the National Capital Commission, the Honourable Anita Anand.
• Read the May 30 Gatineau Park response.
• Read the NCC Gatineau Park Visitor and Economic Impact Study (March 2017)
• Gatineau Park: A Threatened Treasure. 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. — PDF
• CPAWS-OV press release on Nycole Turmel’s announcement on Gatineau Park protection – [PDF] – April 2012
• CPAWS Ottawa Valley comments on the draft plans for Sustainable transportation [PDF], cultural heritage [PDF] and outdoor recreation [PDF] in Gatineau Park — February 2012
• CPAWS Ottawa Valley comments on the draft proposal for ecological corridors between Gatineau Park and other natural areas — PDF February 2012
• Our Bill C-20 press release — PDF December 2010
• The Municipality of Chelsea and the National Capital Commission developed a concept plan for the Meech Creek Valley which could see the development of various tourist attractions in this picturesque sector of Gatineau Park. CPAWS-OV feels that this plan is outdated and we are proposing an alternative vision for this scenic valley. — PDF October 2010
• 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. — PDF October 19, 2009
• CPAWS Ottawa Valley Brief to the Senate on Gatineau Park protection — PDF March 27, 2007