Gatineau Park
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Administered by the National Capital Commission, Gatineau Park is a federal park located in western Quebec on the outskirts of the city of Gatineau. The park forms a 363 km² triangle with the Ottawa and Gatineau River running parallel to two sides of the park.
History
The park area was originally settled by early immigrants to the area, who were soon discouraged by its thin soils. The government of Canada began acquiring land in the area for a park in the 1930s.Created in 1938, Gatineau is the only federal park not protected by the National Parks Act, a situation attributable to former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's caution, fear of criticism and desire for privacy.
It was, in fact, the first national park advocated for Quebec. In 1913, reacting to growing pressure from local citizens, Dominion Parks Commissioner James Harkin asked Quebec Minister of Mines and Forests Charles Devlin whether he would be willing to help establish a national park in the Gatineau district. However, the minister died before he could follow up on the suggestion.
In 1927, the national park idea was again raised in the House 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 ease access to his Kingsmere property. The criticism would shape King's subsequent decisions regarding the park.
Eight years later, at the behest of Percy Sparks of the Federal Woodlands Preservation League, Minister of the Interior T.G. Murphy commissioned a survey that would examine the effects of fires and excessive logging in the Gatineau hills. Among other recommendations, the survey proposed creating a national park. Two years later, however, King chose instead solve the problem by gradual property acquisition.
In his diary entry of December 20, 1937, King explained his reasons behind the decision, writing that he would allow the park to be created, despite his aversion to tourists invading the Meech and Kingsmere Lake areas, and his fear that he would be criticized for wanting to create a park around his country estate. However, King had a very personal interest in the decision, as his Kingsmere estate was located in the area which would become the park on July 1, 1938.
Current issues
His decision has made completing the park a prolonged and difficult process. Today, Gatineau is the only federal park containing private properties that include over 200 homes and cottages. This private property creates problems of its own; according to a prophetic 1953 Report of the Parkway Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Gatineau Park, private ownership would require spending for access roads, remove some of the finest sites from public use, and result in uncontrolled subdivision of the land. Moreover, the provincial government owns approximately 17% of the park's territory.Other problems plaguing the park are the fragmentation of its southern section from road building, removal of some lands without the review, knowledge or approval of Parliament, and the National Capital Commission's inability to consolidate its authority over the territory.
In 2005, reacting to public pressure to better protect Gatineau Park, the Honourable Ed Broadbent, MP, tabled a private member's bill in the House of Commons which would have provided legal boundaries and a land management mechanism for the park, similar to the protection provided by the National Parks Act.
Sites
Gatineau Park includes a number of campgrounds and picnic areas. 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; note that most routes are quite steep and very demanding on legs, heart and lungs! There are beaches at Meech Lake, Lac Philippe and La Pêche Lake, which each offer camping facilities. These lakes also offer canoeing; boats with gas motors are not allowed on most lakes in the park. Although the practise is not permitted in the park, some of the more secluded corners are popular with nudists.There is a tea room at Moorside, the former summer home of William Lyon Mackenzie King, the tenth Prime Minister of Canada, at Kingsmere. The estate also features gardens and the "ruins" collected by King in a woodland setting. A small waterfall runs down the escarpment near Moorside.
The Champlain lookout provides a spectacular view of the Ottawa Valley from high atop the Eardley Escarpment. When the leaves change colour in fall, tourists and locals are drawn to the park's lookouts, roads and pathways to enjoy the autumn scenery.
All of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area's television and radio stations broadcast from a transmitter site at Camp Fortune just north of Kingsmere.
The park's location in the Gatineau Hills makes it a popular destination for cross-country skiing. There are almost 200 km of cross-country trails and the park plays host to the annual Keskinada Loppet competition. There is also a downhill skiing and snowboarding area at Camp Fortune.
Gatineau Park provides habitat for birds such as the Pileated Woodpecker and Common Loon. Turkey Vultures and migrating hawks take advantage of the thermals at the Eardley Escarpment. There are many beavers and white-tailed deer in the park, as well as some black bears and a few wolves in more remote sections.
Pink Lake is a meromictic lake found in the park. Tiny algae within the lake give it a bright green colour. The lake's name comes from the Pink family who originally owned property in the area.
Mackenzie King donated his 600 acre 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.
External links
- *WikiSatellite view at [WikiMapia]
- *Street map from [Mapquest] or [Google Maps]
- *Satellite image from [Google Maps]
- *Topographical map from [Maptech]
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