The Peoples' Nature Preserve

Almost forty years ago,when our children were young, we discovered Gatineau Park. That wonderful natural preserve, so unique in its sublime presence as an unspoiled green space, close to the capital city of this country. Back then, when we explored the inner confines of the park, we did so in supreme isolation. We seldom came across anyone else on our forays, And we discovered all manner of trails that must have been old, but little-used, and as a result, barely marked. We did our share of getting lost, but after awhile we became familiar with those trails, and we loved them.

When our youngest child became interested in butterflies he was able, with the help of a net, to capture some lovely specimens which he later mounted, amassing quite a collection. Later on, when it was fish he was primarily interested in, he would net dace and tiny bottom-feeders, and small perch, sunfish, and even bass. He would take some home, and place them in one of the several aquariums he kept, and study them. He later took a doctorate in biology, and is now a senior biologist with a provincial government department.

We had family picnics, featuring all manner of edible goodies. Mostly we would have picnic lunches, but occasionally dinners, as well. After lunch we would embark on a brisk trail ramble. After dinner, we would launch our canoe in one of the lakes. We might eat on the trail, halfway up the side of one of the hills; for example at Luskville, or at any other spot that looked enticing and inviting, even on occasion at picnic tables set out at certain places. We discovered interesting toads and frogs and snakes, saw exotic birds and waterbirds, deer and porcupines, foxes and raccoons.

We would pick wild berries in season, each of us with a pail, then haul them home and make jam from strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Once too, from rose hips. It was there that we taught ourselves to canoe for the first time, and we became addicted to canoeing on all the lakes in the park. We snowshoed Gatineau Park in the winter, and loved every minute of our time there; up in the hills, swooshing down on layers of newly-fallen snow, or over the frozen lakes, listening to the ice 'crack' under us.

When our children became adults, and we spent a number of years out of the country and then returned the Gatineau Park we once knew was no more. A huge advertising campaign had been launched, enticing people to come and visit the park, spend their leisure time there, appreciate the beauty of the place. And more; the advent of the bicycle had arrived, when mountain bikes with their heavy-duty frames and tires were invented. The park was no longer our private preserve. Nor should it have been.

In the years that followed we began to notice how stealthily large private homes would begin appearing in various parts of the park. And we were quite simply amazed that this national treasure was allowed to be invaded like this, surreptitiously, as though the cottages that were present on various lakes weren't surprisingly invasive enough. Now there's a group that has approached an National Capital Commission consultation committee on recreation with the idea of limiting the numbers of vehicles permitted in the park.

The Conseil regional de l'environment et du developpement durable de l'Outaouais is concerned about the degradation of the park environments with too many visitors, and too much recreational usage in particularly sensitive areas. For starters, enforcement of current park by-laws might be a good thing, insisting that bicyclists whose thrill is not nature, but speed under arduous physical geological conditions, remain on those trails where it is clearly marked they are permitted to venture.

Thrill-seekers resent that any of the trails arebforbidden for their use; they have no sympathy with the need to protect environmentally-sensitive areas. Meaningful fines that convince people they need to respect the rules laid down by those who care about the park, should be the reward for those who flaunt responsibility. Further, the NCC should practise what they mealy-mouth-preach, and ensure that the 361-square kilometres of forests and lakes with its rich flora and fauna, be off limits to private ownership, and the building of monster homes for the well-connected and the wealthy be prohibited.

The NCC should strenuously resist the temptation to charge motorists on entering the park. The park and its upkeep has already been paid for, and continues to be, through general taxation. This precious natural resource should be available for all who respect its presence and wish to take advantage of viewing and experiencing its beauty and diversity. For the most part, thanks to heavy NCC advertising, most of the people who visit do so to see the fall colours and their excursions are limited.

For those who appreciate the Gatineau Hills for the opportunities it allows us - to view wildlife, identify the flora, exercise our city-weary limbs on its many trails and well-forested interior, enjoy quiet paddles on the lakes - the freedom to pursue those options should remain unobstructed, other than the fees already extracted.