Clearcutting of Gatineau Park to make way for extension of Highway 5 began at 6:00 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Protesters and media began trickling in at about 11:00 am; although a Couillard Construction employees tried to kick them out, they stood their ground. Two people climbed the 300-year-old Mother Tree to voice their opposition to the project, while others took journalists up Brown Lake Mountain to get a view of the road an excavator bulldozed through the valley.

At about 12:00 pm, a Couillard Construction foreman told protesters that things would get rough if they tried to set up a picket.

The Occupy Gatineau Park group says it intends to continue protesting in the days ahead. Below is the press release they issued today.

Wakefield, Quebec, February 21, 2012 – Heavy logging equipment rolled into Gatineau Park today to begin clearcutting for the La Pêche phase of the controversial A5 highway near Wakefield Quebec.

A coalition of environmental groups and citizens known as A5X had anticipated the assault for several weeks.

Contractor personnel hauled in tree-harvesters, hydraulic excavators and other industrial logging machinery to begin deforesting inside and outside the eastern boundary of Gatineau Park.

Soon after they heard that work had begun, demonstrators showed up to speak to the press, with some climbing the trees to voice their protest. They confirmed they intend to block access to ecologically sensitive areas inside the park.

Last January 5, opponents to the highway erected an incident command post on Brown Lake Road to train protesters in tree-sitting and other methods of civil-disobedience.

Highway 5 consists of four lanes and has a minimum width of 150 metres. Construction of the section that will link Chelsea and La Pêche will require clearing over 88 hectares of mature forest and the blasting of Brown Lake Mountain. As well, it will cut off public access to Brown Lake and seriously affect local wells and the regional aquifer servicing Wakefield.

Numerous federal and provincial government departments dismissed measures proposed by conservation biologists and citizens to limit the number of lanes and size of the traffic interchange into Wakefield – measures that would have minimized the project’s “Amazonian” impact on Wakefield and Gatineau Park (see www.a5x.org for alternate design proposals).

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Information: Anne Winship (819) 459-4452, cell.: (613) 290-9010; Jamie Roberston (613) 863-4667; Jean-Paul Murray, (819) 827-1803; Ian Huggett (819) 665-2937.

On Monday, the A5X group held a demonstration in front of the Gatineau office of Stéphanie Vallée, parliamentary secretary to Quebec Premier Jean Charest. They wanted to hand her a letter asking the Quebec government to freeze all preparatory work and clearcutting in Gatineau Park. Unfortunately, no one was in Ms. Vallée’s office — at 10:30 am — so the letter was left in the mailbox.

The photos shown above were snapped on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Transport Quebec officials have sent a formal notice to protesters they intend to dismantle the Occupy Gatineau Park Camp beginning at 12:00 pm, Thursday, February 16.

Members of Occupy Gatineau Park have responded by urging local residents to gather at the camp site to exercise their democratic rights and voice their protest.

Citizens erected the camp in early January to oppose extension of a four-lane highway through Gatineau Park. About 75 acres of mature forests, including 300 year old trees, will be cleared for the road.

Environmental groups tried to persuade Transport Quebec to reduce the width of the highway exchange from six lanes to two lanes, and to eliminate one of the two traffic circles. Those efforts having failed, citizens are now asking for a freeze on construction of the Wakefield section of Highway 5 pending completion of the Chelsea portion.

Furthermore, protesters argue construction will violate a 2010 federal environmental assessment which says work can only begin when four area homes have running water from individual wells. None of the homes are hooked up yet and clearcutting is to begin on Monday, February 20.

News reports have confirmed several protesters are planning to sit in the trees.

Below are the press release just issued by Ian Huggett and Transport Quebec’s demand letter telling protesters to remove their camp.

Emergency Alert: Transport Quebec intends to tear-down Brown Lake protest camp on Thursday, Feb. 16

Wakefield, February 15, 2012 – Transport Quebec Director Jacques Henry emailed a demand letter to the Wakefield protest group known as A5X on February 14, requesting that material such as a banner and ropes be removed from the area currently within the A5 highway alignment on Brown Lake Road.

The notice gave a dead-line of Thursday February 16, at 12:00 noon. Any material left on site after this date will be confiscated and destroyed by the MTQ.

While the letter and its content have no legal force, the intent is clear: Transport Quebec intends to secure the protest site with heavy equipment and possibly establish a shelter for its employees. Machinery would be brought on site the following day, Friday, February 17, 2012, in preparation for cutting Monday morning February 20.

This area is currently claimed by A5X as an “incident command post” under the old-growth pines…

Unless people opposed to the highway show-up on February 16 by 12:00 noon and uphold their rights under the Charter to associate, gather, and express themselves to protect part of our Canadian heritage, Transport Quebec will commandeer the protest site and attempt to cut the 300 year old pines to diffuse opposition against the highway. If you care, show up tomorrow when Transport Quebec workers plan to tear down our camp!

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Information: Ian Huggett, Eco-Watch: (819) 665-2937; ichuggett@gmx.com; Jamie Roberston (613) 863-4667; wildadventurescanada@yahoo.ca; Anne Winship: (819) 459-4452; info@beanfair.ca. For more details: www.a5x.org.

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Transport Quebec Demand Letter

From: Henry, Jacques Jacques.Henry@mtq.gouv.qc.ca
Date: 2012/2/14
Subject: Mise en demeure
To: admin@a5x.org

PAR COURRIEL

SOUS TOUTES RÉSERVES

Aux membres du groupe A5X,

Le 13 février dernier, lors d’une visite sur l’emprise routière du 2e tronçon de l’autoroute 5, dans la municipalité de La Pêche, nous avons constaté la présence de matériel, notamment des cordes dans les arbres. Selon les informations se retrouvant sur votre site internet, le matériel a été installé par vos membres sur les terrains du ministère des Transports du Québec.

Nous désirons vous informer que ce matériel y est installé sans droit et que, par conséquent, il doit être retiré d’ici 12 h, le 16 février 2012. À l’expiration de ce délai, le matériel sera retiré sans autre avis ni délai. Il pourra être récupéré en communiquant au 819 772-3849.

Nous comptons sur votre collaboration.

Jacques Henry, ing.

Directeur

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society today issued a press release supporting the NCC’s decision to close a section of Gamelin Street that runs through Gatineau Park.

The NCC confirmed on January 25 its intention to close the road, highlighting this will restore habitat, reduce the number of roads and traffic in the park, and fulfill a 2005 Master Plan commitment.

Although Gatineau municipal council voted 15 to 3 in support of closing the road at an August 2011 meeting, it has decided to reconsider its decision, given public opposition to it. Meanwhile, the NCC is standing its ground and says it will close the road next spring.

Below is the CPAWS release.

CPAWS supports NCC closure of Gamelin: wants fewer roads in park

Ottawa, February 7, 2012 – The Ottawa Valley Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) fully supports the National Capital Commission (NCC) in its decision to close a 500 metre stretch of rue Gamelin that runs through Gatineau Park. The NCC agreed to this road closure in 1983 as a minor mitigation measure for the construction of the four-lane boul. des Allumettières.

Closure of this road is a welcome step in the right direction that will help restore the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park. In the 2005 Gatineau Park Master Plan the NCC declared ecological integrity to be its top management priority. With 40km of parkways and 60km of municipal roads cutting in and through Gatineau Park, this expansive road network is one of the greatest threats to the Park’s ecological integrity, causing wildlife fatalities and habitat fragmentation.

At 500m in length, the soon-to-be closed section of rue Gamelin is relatively small, but CPAWS sees this road closure as significant because it will recombine 420 acres of natural space. Like any other road crossing through Gatineau Park, rue Gamelin fragments the habitat of many small animals. This road closure will benefit the area’s species at risk, including the Milk Snake, Water Snake, Snapping Turtle, and Western Chorus Frog.

“Since the early nineties, some 1,842 acres have been removed from Gatineau Park, with 334 acres falling prey to road building. So this closure is a clear signal the NCC is making efforts to restore the park’s ecological integrity,” said CPAWS-OV Executive Director John McDonnell.

CPAWS urges the NCC to take further bold actions in line with its 2005 Master Plan commitment to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park. When addressing the sprawling road network in Gatineau Park, such actions should include a moratorium on all future road construction, a study on the need for existing roads, and opening negotiations with municipalities over other possible road closures.

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Information: John McDonnell, Executive Director, Ottawa Valley Chapter, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society; tel.: 613-232-7297; email: jmcdonnell@cpaws.org.

As you can see, precipitation in the winter has fallen from around 220mm to under 175mm over the past 100 years, or, assuming a 10:1 precipitation:snow ratio, about 2.2 metres to 1.75 metres. This, despite overall precipitation and that in other seasons has risen. What could this mean for skiers, snowshoers, and other snow-hounds?

A 2005 report by the NCC actually predicted that by 2050 there might not be enough snow to offer XC and snowshoe trails in Gatineau Park!

Scary stuff indeed. Read Charles’ full post over at GuideGatineau.

Really, the NCC deserving praise?

After hacking off 8 sq. km of Gatineau Park over the last 20 years through land deals and road building, is it possible the NCC has seen the light and is now keeping master plan promises to secure the park’s integrity?

A CBC news report suggests it is. The report says the NCC is standing firm and will close the stretch of Gamelin Street that cuts through the park. See report at: http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2012/01/25/010-fermeture-troncon-gamelin.shtml.

This road closure, announced at the NCC’s January 25 public meeting, will restore habitat by reducing the number of roads and traffic in the park. It will also fulfill a 2005 Master Plan commitment.

Over 2,000 people signed a petition to stop this NCC road closure. Thirty or so of them voiced their opposition at the January 24 Gatineau council meeting.

At an earlier meeting in August 2011, municipal officials voted 15 to 3 in support of closing the road, those opposed being Denise Laferrière, Maxime Tremblay and Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin.

Though praiseworthy, this move pales in comparison to the NCC’s promise to add 2,400 hectares to the Greenbelt by 2067.[1]

And it’s too bad the NCC hasn’t shown the same commitment to protecting the Gatineau Park habitat soon to be clearcut to build Highway 5.

[1]As reported in the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/moves+forward+grand+plan+expand+Greenbelt/6052079/story.html

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has just issued a press release saying the Highway 5 controversy confirms federal politicians must make Gatineau Park a legislative priority.

I spoke with a Transport Quebec official at 9:50 am on January 19. She confirmed the contractor for phase 2 of the A5 extension has been selected. All that remains to be done, she said, is fill in the appropriate paperwork before the announcement is made in a few days. Work should start before end of January. 

Below is the CPAWS press release.

Ottawa, Ontario, January 19, 2012 – The Ottawa Valley Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-OV) is calling on federal politicians to make Gatineau Park a legislative priority. The treasured park has yet to be given protected status in the National Capital Act or other federal statute and continues to be threatened by development, as the latest controversy surrounding expansion of Highway 5 shows.

In the area soon to be affected by construction, local residents and environmentalists are staging tree sit-ins to protest Quebec’s Ministry of Transport (MTQ) decision to proceed with the original plan for Phase 2 of the Highway 5 extension. Covering 6.5 km between Farm Point in Chelsea and Highway 366 in La Pêche, Phase 2 cuts through the eastern boundary of Gatineau Park.

Last summer CPAWS-OV engaged in debate with the National Capital Commission (NCC), the Park’s administrative body, over the proper boundaries of the Park. The NCC claimed the Park’s boundaries were established through a 1997 rationalization exercise, which would put the new portion of the highway outside the park. But having been first set out in a 1960 Order-in-Council, CPAWS-OV argued that the earlier boundaries could only be overridden by Parliament.

Accordingly, the latest extension of the highway will clear-cut approximately 88 hectares of mature forest inside Gatineau Park – consisting of white pine, eastern hemlock, American beech, and sugar maple. Moreover, a considerable portion of the forested escarpment around Brown Lake will be blasted away during construction.

“During the planning of the highway extension, there was no public consultation to speak of,” said Doug Anions, chair of the CPAWS-OV Gatineau Park Committee, and former Parks Canada official. “Even if groups like CPAWS and SOS Wakefield pointed out a number of negative ecological impacts tied to the planned highway expansion, such as the destruction of the Vale Verde aquifer.”

“The highway is cutting through a conservation area of national significance, but you wouldn’t realize that when looking at the MTQ’s official plans,” said CPAWS-OV Executive Director John McDonnell. “With two lanes in each direction separated by a central median of 120 metres, they are putting a superhighway through part of Gatineau Park. This would have never occurred if the public had been consulted about these plans in advance,” he added.

Construction of Highway 5 confirms that the concerns of area citizens and local conservation organizations have been largely ignored in the development of plans that compromise the ecological integrity, not only of Gatineau Park, but of the regional ecosystem as whole.

Therefore, CPAWS-OV urges federal politicians to protect Gatineau Park from further development, fragmentation, and urbanization by enacting legislation that defines the park’s boundaries, makes the maintenance and restoration of ecological integrity the top management priority, prohibits new residential construction, and requires the NCC to acquire all Gatineau Park inholdings.

Founded in 1970 by a group of naturalists in response to concerns over the administration of Gatineau Park, CPAWS-OV now works to protect natural lands throughout the National Capital Region and surrounding environs. In addition to advocating for the protection of Gatineau Park, it also campaigns for the conservation of the Dumoine River Watershed, the eastern wolf population, and is a key player in the Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) landscape connectivity initiative.

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Media Contact: John McDonnell, Executive Director, Ottawa Valley Chapter, Canadian Park and Wilderness Society. Tel: 613-232-7297; jmcdonnell@cpaws.org

Backgrounder

In a 2010 report, CPAWS-OV declared Transport Canada’s screening level assessment of the Highway 5 extension to be “completely inadequate.” Given the scale of the project, the large investment of public funds ($170 million), and the loss of ecological integrity for Gatineau Park, the report indicated the need for a comprehensive study level assessment around which to design the highway extension. Transport Canada did not respond to the report, and MTQ officials kept to the original plans that were first drafted in the 1980s, including six-lane highway exchanges and two traffic circles.

CPAWS-OV has contested Highway 5 ever since the initial 1972 planning agreement was reached between the NCC and the Government of Quebec. Before construction of the highway had begun, the founding members of CPAWS-OV proposed that the highway be situated east of the Gatineau River, to prevent the fragmentation of wildlife habitat around Gatineau Park, located on the west side of the river. Attempts to discuss their proposal with NCC and MTQ officials failed, and Highway 5 is being built as planned west of the Gatineau River.

• Gatineau Park Outdoor Recreation Plan– The NCC is seeking opinions on the priority for the implementation of proposed strategies for outdoor recreational activities in Gatineau Park, while respecting ecosystem conservation objectives.A workshop on this plan will be held from 9:30 am to 12 pm, on Saturday, January 28 at the Best Western Hotel, 131 Laurier Street, Gatineau, QC. Participants are asked to confirm their attendance in advance, before January 25, 2012, at info@ncc-ccn.ca. The public can also complete an online questionnaire before February 19, 2012.

[A quick note: you can check out a very long PowerPoint presentation of the Gatineau Park Outdoor Recreation Plan here]

• Gatineau Park Sustainable Transportation Plan– The NCC wants opinions from the public on priority issues and proposed solutions to improve transit to and within the Park, again in the context of ecosystem conservation objectives.A workshop on this plan will be held from 1:30 pm to 4 pm, on Saturday, January 28 at the Best Western Hotel, 131 Laurier Street, Gatineau, QC. Participants are asked to confirm their attendance in advance, before January 25, 2012, at info@ncc-ccn.ca. The public can also complete an online questionnaire before February 19, 2012.
• Gatineau Park Cultural Heritage Plan – Consultation on the Gatineau Park Cultural Heritage Plan is solely online, on the NCC’s website. The NCC wants to know the public’s interest in Gatineau Park’s cultural resources. Participants are asked to complete an online questionnaire before February 19, 2012.

A conservation park of 361 square kilometres, Gatineau Park is 15 minutes from Parliament Hill and in the heart of the Capital. The Park is a prime destination for visitors and residents alike. According to recent research, it is estimated that Gatineau Park receives over 2.7 million visits each year.

For more information on these public consultations, the public may contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit the NCC’s website at www.canadascapital.gc.ca.

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The secret to what really feels like a record-late opening (it’s not: the latest opening was on February 2, 2002, breaking the previous record established on January 18, 1971) has been the hard work of the NCC crew, who have been flooding and prepping the Canal at a furious pace during the recent freeze. “The NCC Skateway team have used their expertise to nudge nature along and to allow today’s launch of the season,” says Michelle Comeau of the NCC. The NCC performed intense flooding on the ice surface over the past two weeks, and ice tests were conducted along the entire length of the Rideau Canal Skateway.

The open stretch will be between Bank Street Bridge and Pretoria Bridge. This will give us all a chance to kick back in the new $750k chalets the NCC installed this year to much criticism, and is just in time for the upcoming All Star weekend, which I hear features a skate down the Canal with the Stanley Cup!

You can check the Rideau Canal Skateway conditions at the NCC website, or download the Rideau Canal Skateway iPhone app!

I’m pretty stoked to get out this year – can’t wait for my first Beavertail and hot chocolate!

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Eco-Watch director Ian Huggett has issued a press release confirming the Occupy Gatineau Park Protest is under way.

To voice their opposition to the Highway 5 extension, Huggett and other concerned citizens will hold a press conference on January 5 at 11:00 a.m. at the end of Brown Lake Road in Wakefield – complete with someone sitting 100 feet up a 200-year old pine tree.

For several months now, environmental groups have been trying to limit the ecological impact of the Highway 5 extension through the park. Efforts have included attempts to convince Transport Quebec to reduce the width of the highway exchange from six lanes to two lanes, and to eliminate one of the two traffic circles.

Those efforts having failed, citizens are now asking for a freeze on construction of the Wakefield section of Highway 5 pending completion of the Chelsea portion.

Below is an edited version of Huggett’s press release.

Wakefield Man Sits in Old-Growth Pine to Protest Hwy 5 Through Gatineau Park

Wakefield, Quebec, January 5, 2012—Critics of the Highway 5 extension erected an “incident command post” in Gatineau Park yesterday to protest clear-cutting and rock blasting by Transport Quebec (MTQ).

Two ancient pine trees cresting Brown Lake Mountain have been roped to accommodate tree-sitters and observation cameras. A Wakefield man is currently sitting 100 hundred feet up a massive pine tree lying in the proposed Highway 5 route off Brown Lake Road in Gatineau Park.

Wakefield residents and local environmental groups failed to negotiate a compromise with the National Capital Commission (NCC) and MTQ to reduce the 150 m wide four-lane highway linking Gatineau to Wakefield. The highway will run through sections of Gatineau Park near Brown Lake in La Pêche.

Critics argue they don’t oppose improved transportation in the region, but believe the highway’s design and configuration needlessly destroy the eastern boundary of Gatineau Park by clearing mature forest, draining wetlands and blasting rock-cuts overlooking Valley Drive.

A formal request was issued last week urging various officials to complete the Chelsea phase of the Highway 5 project before needlessly clearing the spectacular landscape surrounding Wakefield and Gatineau Park. Officials contacted include NCC CEO Marie LeMay (613)239-5271, Environment Quebec (MDDEP) biologist Louis-Philippe Caron (418) 521-3933, Transport Quebec’s Director of Inventory and Planning for the Outaouais Jacques Henry (819) 772-3107 and their political allies.

Opponents warn they will not stand idle and watch Gatineau Park, “the jewel of the National Capital Region,” sacrificed for yet another highway. The A5 is the third major transportation corridor to slice through the park in the past decade. Moreover, there is political pressure to widen the Eardly-Masham Road, straighten Notch Road, and build  Deschenes Blvd. – all infrastructure projects proposed inside Gatineau Park.

This media event scheduled for Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 11:00 am will showcase tactics of direct action to prevent construction workers cutting and blasting through Gatineau Park.

Location: Brown Lake Road. Directions: turn left (west) off Hwy 105 onto a hidden side road opposite Rockhurst Road. The turn-off is 200m south of the Gauvin Real-Estate Office just before (south) of the lights at Valley Drive leading to Wakefield.

Information: Anne Winship (819) 459-4452; Ian Huggett (819) 827-3266, cell: (819) 665-2937.

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The Gatineau Park Protection Committee, for its part, hopes to attract the attention of politicians to the need to legislate solid boundaries for the park, which the NCC has been changing without informing the public, as well as urge urge parliamentarians to adopt a coherent, ecologically focused and rational land management policy for the park.

My girlfriend got me a pair of snowshoes for Christmas, so I can’t wait to get out and give them a try! You can check the OutdoorOttawa Snowshoe page for the latest trail conditions and pictures, and feel free to post your own!

They’ve also opened Gatineau Park’s 10-kilometre winter walking trail network, too, with a few great hikes including one of my favourites, the Lauriault Trail. You can access the winter walking trails from parking lots 3, 6 and the Gatineau Park Visitor Center.

Lots of great ways to get outside and enjoy winter! See you out there!