Rock Climbers Fear Ban
The Centretown News has a piece on the expected move by the National Capital Commission to restrict rock climbing in Gatineau park.
In the article Peter Slivka, owner of the Vertical Reality climbing gym, expresses his disappointment.
The NCC has a conservation mandate and has undertaken studies that show the Eardley Escarpment to be particularly ecologically valuable and fragile, which is what is driving the anticipated restrictions.
However, the NCC conservation mandate derives from the 2005 Gatineau Park Master Plan and that plan has been criticized for a lack of mention of Park users.
David Foster, a Vice President of the Alpine Club of Canada, indicates that climbing on the Eardley Escarpment has taken place for 50 years or so and any ecological damage to favourite climbing routes has already happened decades ago; keeping climbers away now may in fact be counterproductive. On the one hand, little conservation will be achieved, and on the other hand keeping people from using the park will reduce the value they place on it, ultimately reducing the will to protect it in the future.