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Gatineau Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Pink Lake at the end of October
Location	Quebec, Canada
Nearest city	Gatineau
Area	361.31 km²
Established	1938
Governing body	National Capital Commission

Gatineau Park (Template:Lang-fr) is located in Quebec's Outaouais region, just north of Ottawa, Ontario. Administered by the National Capital Commission, the park is a 363 km² wedge of land to the west of the Gatineau River. The park, whose circumference is 179.2 km, includes parts of the municipalities of Chelsea, Pontiac, La Pêche, and the City of Gatineau.

Although advocated by Dominion Parks Commissioner James Harkin to be the first national park outside the Rocky Mountains, it remains the only federal park that is not a national park, a situation that has direct repercussions on its ecology, boundaries and land mass.

History and politics

Created in 1938, Gatineau is the only federal park not protected by the National Parks Act, largely as a result of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's caution, fear of criticism and desire for privacy.

Gatineau Park was not only the first national park advocated for Quebec, it was also planned to be the first one outside the Rocky Mountains. As well, it was to be the first national park created by the first parks service in the world, the Dominion Parks Branch.

On December 3, 1912, Dominion Parks Commissioner James Harkin wrote to Deputy Minister of the Interior William Cory, arguing for the creation of a nation-wide system of parks, the first of which was to be Gatineau Park. In his memo, Harkin said:

"The East has no national parks like those in the Rockies, and it is proposed that the country develop a broader scheme of parks than exists in any other country Bringing into effect the proposed Gatineau Park would, I think, most easily commence this scheme."

A few months later, on Cory's suggestion, Harkin wrote Quebec Minister of Mines and Forests Charles Devlin inquiring whether he would help establish a national park in the Gatineau district. Although provincial officials wrote back that the matter would receive their minister's immediate attention, Devlin died before he could follow up on Harkin's request, and no further response was ever received.

And with the 1913 economic depression and the First World War intervening shortly thereafter, the government of Canada had to tend to more pressing matters.

On April 7, 1927, the idea of creating a Gatineau national park was again raised in the House of Commons, where MPs considered a bill to create the Federal District Commission, which would build parks and parkways on both sides of the Ottawa River. During debate, however, Conservative MP John Edwards accused Prime Minister King of wanting to create a park around his Kingsmere property and ease access to it by building a parkway. Though he denied the charge, the criticism would shape King's subsequent decisions regarding the park.

It would take another eleven years for the park to be created in embryonic form on July 1, 1938, as a result of efforts by Percy Sparks of the Federal Woodlands Preservation League. By choosing to create the park through gradual property acquisition, the King government allowed private property to continue existing in Gatineau Park -- a situation that has prevented the park from becoming a national park.

Today the park is administered by the National Capital Commission, a body that has attracted considerable public controversy for its policies on park boundaries, private land ownership and allowing construction in the park.

Building on the work of the predecessor Federal Woodlands Preservation League, the modern-day New Woodlands Preservation League and its Gatineau Park Protection Committee advocate for public access and use of the park and oppose private development in it.

Sites and activities

Gatineau Park is a recreational destination offering public facilities including beaches, campgrounds, picnic areas, trails and parkways. There are 165 km of hiking trails and 90 km of trails for mountain bikes and the Trans Canada Trail passes through the park. The park is also popular with cyclists where many routes are quite steep and very demanding on legs, heart and lungs!

Beaches are located at Meech Lake, Lac Phillipe and La Pêche Lake. While no camping is allowed at Meech Lake, there are campgrounds at the other two lakes. All three lakes are open to canoeists, but gas motor boats are only allowed at Meech Lake due to the presence of many private properties.

Cross-country skiing is one of the park's main recreational activities. Nearly 200 km of cross-country trails criss-cross the park, which hosts the annual Gatineau Loppet ski race (formerly known as Keskinada Loppet). Downhill skiing and snowboarding are engaged in at Camp Fortune.

Although the practice is not formally permitted in the park, some of the more secluded corners are popular with nudists. In particular there is an unofficial nude beach that has been in use since the late 1930s. Located northwest of parking lot P11 on trail 36, the beach is extensively used by members of Ottawa's gay community.

There is a tea room at Moorside, the former summer home of William Lyon Mackenzie King, the tenth Prime Minister of Canada. Located near Kingsmere Lake, the estate also features gardens and the "ruins" collected by King in a woodland setting. A small waterfall runs down the escarpment near Moorside. Mackenzie King donated his 600-acre (2.4 km) property at Kingsmere to the people of Canada at his death in 1950.

Also located inside the park are the Prime Minister of Canada's Harrington Lake country retreat, and the official residence of the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, known as The Farm, which is Prime Minister King's former residence.

At the end of the Gatineau Parkway, Champlain lookout provides a spectacular view of the Ottawa Valley from high atop the Eardley Escarpment. When leaves change colour in fall, tourists and locals are drawn to the park's lookouts, roads and pathways to enjoy the autumn scenery.

Pink Lake is a meromictic lake found in the park. Tiny algae in the lake give it a bright green colour. The lake's name comes from the Pink family who originally owned property in the area. The park includes many other lakes.

King Mountain, the highest peak in Gatineau, rising an almost vertical 345 meters from the Eardley Escarpment, was the first triangulation point in Canada. Also, the mountain's unique positioning provides an interesting spectrum of vegetation ranging from evergreen and deciduous forests to windswept savannas. The mountain is also home to a number of trees which are rare in the area, including some that are nearly 600 years old. For many years, a thirty-foot high red-coloured cedar cross was located on top of King Mountain. Originally erected by Old Chelsea's parish priest, Father Maguire, it could be seen for miles around. It eventually rotted and fell over the cliff. King Mountain served as the main location for Will Inrig's 2005 feature-film Ivannikov and the Blessèd Virgin Mary.

Mackenzie King donated his 600-acre (2.4 km) property at Kingsmere to the people of Canada at his death in 1950. The Prime Minister of Canada's country retreat at Harrington Lake, and The Farm, the official residence of the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, and Prime Minister King's former residence, are located within the park.

All the Ottawa-Gatineau area's television and FM radio stations broadcast from the Ryan Tower atop Camp Fortune just north of Kingsmere.

Wildlife

Gatineau Park provides habitat for many species of birds including the Pileated Woodpecker and Common Loon. Turkey Vultures and migrating hawks may be observed soaring on the thermals above the Eardley Escarpment. The park is also home to a large population of beavers and white-tailed deer, as well as black bears and two wolf packs in the more remote sections.

Image gallery

• Hiking on the Discovery trail near Meech Lake area.
• "Fall Rhapsody" guided tour.
• Carbide Wilson's abandoned mill.
• Mackenzie King Estate.
• Mackenzie King ruin's garden.
• View of an area around Pink Lake, Gatineau Park.
• "La chute" trail through the park
• Cross Country ski trails in Gatineau Park track-set for classic skiing at the sides and groomed for skate skiing in the centre.

See also

• Politics of Gatineau Park

References

1. Template:Fr Gouvernement du Québec. "Registre des aires protégées au Québec: Parc de la Commission de la capitale nationale (Canada)" (PDF). Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs. Retrieved september 13, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
2. Lothian W.F., A Brief History of Canada's National Parks, Environment Canada, 1987, p. 132; See speech on Bill S-210 by the Honourable Tommy Banks, Senate Debates, October 5, 2006, pp. 847-849, http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/chambus/senate/deb-e/pdf/035db_2006-10-05-E.pdf.
3. The New Woodlands Preservation League, brief submitted to the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, March 22, 2007, http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/enrg-e/pdf/15issue.pdf;The Creation and Early Development of Gatineau Park, Gagnon, S. and Filion, M. National Capital Commission, 2004,http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/1663_gatineau_study_e.pdf (note: the conclusion of this study has been seriously challenged. See Give Credit to Park's Founder, by Jean-Paul Murray, Ottawa Citizen, December 22, 2004, p. D4, www.nccwatch.org/cgi-bin/nccmangler?mackenzie).
4. Library and Archives Canada, Department of the Interior, Dominion Parks Branch, File US-14, volumes 1,2,5, and 6; See Claim Gatineau Park can’t be national park untrue, The Ottawa Citizen, October 16, 2006, http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=a78f8c04-48f2-49f6-873f-8a17580583bd, and speech on Bill S-210 by the Honourable Tommy Banks, Senate Debates, October 5, 2006, pp. 847-849, http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/chambus/senate/deb-e/pdf/035db_2006-10-05-E.pdf.
5. Lothian,ibid.
6. The New Woodlands Preservation League, ibid.
7. Debates, House of Commons, April 7, 1927, and New Woodlands Preservation League, ibid.
8. New Woodlands Preservation League, ibid.
9. See Senate of Canada, debates on Bill S-210, May 2, June 6, June 13, June 15, October 5, November 6, 2006, www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISINFO ;«Erreurs sur le lac Meech», Le Droit, le 17 juillet 2009, p. 12; “Gatineau Park is not a private club Mr. Cannon,” The West Quebec Post, August 7-13, 209, p. 4; "La belle insouciance toute rhodésienne, Bulletin Ensemble, Impératif français, printemps 2009, p. 3 http://www.imperatif-francais.org/bienvenu/telechargements/bulletin-ensemble-d-imperatif-francais/2009.html
10. National Capital Commission (2008). "Mountain Biking in Gatineau Park". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
11. National Capital Commission (2008). "Beaches". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
12. National Capital Commission (2008). "Gatineau Park Cross-Country Skiing". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
13. National Capital Commission (2005). "GATINEAU PARK MASTER PLAN". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
14. Zohody, Laura: Rain Hasn't Kept Gays From Meech, Capital Xtra #191 07 August 2008 pages 7-8. Pink Triangle Press. ISSN 1195-6127
15. ^ National Capital Commission (2008). "Mackenzie King Estate". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
16. ^ National Capital Commission (2008). "Harrington Lake / Lac Mousseau". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
17. National Capital Commission (2007). "Lookouts in Gatineau Park". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
18. National Capital Commission (2008). "Gatineau Park Pink Lake". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
19. National Capital Commission (2007). "Gatineau Park King Mountain". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
20. National Capital Commission (undated). "Welcome to King Mountain" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
21. Katharine Fletcher, Historical Walks: The Gatineau Park Story, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, third edition, 2004, p.134.
22. http://www.jivatmavalettas.com/interview.html.
23. National Capital Commission (2008). "Gatineau Park Fauna". Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

• Official web site
• NCC Approved Gatineau Park Camping Website

• IUCN Category II
• National Capital Commission
• Outaouais
• Parks in Quebec
• Lakes of Gatineau Park