we love Gatineau Park

This week the Gatineau Park Ecosystem Conservation Plan was released.

Most of the news coverage related to the release has focused on rock climbing. The debate between the NCC and rock climbers is important but the Plan is bigger than that.

It is an attempt at a systematic approach to protecting the natural environment that makes Gatineau Park the special place it is.

Park managers take their marching orders from the 2005 Gatineau Park Master Plan and the Master Plan gives priority to conservation; hence this latest Plan and the amount of weight given to it.

The Plan is a big fat document dealing with everything from clams and bugs to sports and climate change; it has dozens of recommended actions intended to span the next 15 to 25 years.

What matters to people though is how it will affect them.

How will it influence the way we use the park?

One obvious thing is how we use the park and enjoy it.

The Recreation Management Plan is a subordinate Plan to the Ecosystem Conservation Plan and is now in preparation. The Ecosystem Conservation Plan is going to govern how the Recreation Management Plan is developed, interpreted and implemented.

The uproar over climbing is one aspect of what is coming under the Recreation Management Plan. Other activities can expect to see greater controls placed on them too, but aren’t getting press right now.

Geocaching and mountain biking are mentioned in the documents. But the fact that greater control is recommended on unofficial trails mean that even walkers and hikers will face restrictions.

Which is not to say that all restrictions are bad or unjustified.

I have two bones to pick with respect to the approach as it appears to be developing.

One is that in the case of the climbing community the NCC has missed an opportunity to execute on its stated goal of being open and transparent. I’ve heard a lot of interesting points that relate to responsible rock climbing and protection of species along the Eardley Escarpment that the climbers feel they haven’t had a chance to discuss with the NCC.

A second point is that some feel the climbers are only a small group and that most people aren’t affected so it doesn’t really matter. This is wrongheaded thinking.

The thousands of people whose complete Gatineau Park experience involves a drive to the Champlain Lookout can hardly have the depth of commitment to protecting the park that the handful of enthusiasts do who try to spend their every waking hour there.

Committed park users can make committed park ambassadors; their love of the park can make its protection part of their personal mission, on the ground when there are no conservation officers for miles around. Committed park users form the nucleus of responsible behavior that casual users follow.

The NCC has made the right moves in seeking to identify organizations representing various user groups and in signing agreements with them; climbers and mountain bikers are two examples. Yet if lack of NCC follow-through means that these groups end up feeling alienated, most of the advantage of their involvement is lost.