Rehabilitation of the Gatineau Park Wolf Trail

The Wolf Trail (trail no. 62) is located in Gatineau Park within the municipalities of Chelsea and Pontiac, in the Outaouais region of Québec. Its starting point is parking lot P13 at Blanchet Beach on Meech Lake. The Wolf trail is an 8.3-km loop. It has a steep profile, with many passages that favor high erosion zones. This raises safety issues for users. Its positioning results in regular flooding of certain sections, which users bypass by going off-trail. This widening of the trail results in impacts to adjacent flora. Material washout also affects downstream water quality and watercourse features.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is proposing a complete rehabilitation of the trail, which includes the relocation of certain segments, the closure of certain sections and maintenance activities for the remainder of the trail. This project aims to provide users with a network of safe trails, while limiting environmental impacts.

The project is proposed by the NCC, on lands under its stewardship (Gatineau Park). It is subject to a federal land use, design and transaction approval under the National Capital Act. Six (6) species at risk are anticipated to be affected by the proposed work. Therefore, a permit application under the Species at Risk Act has been filed with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The trail rehabilitation involves:

  • The closure and ecological restoration of 3.3 km of trails, which will be relocated;
  • Creating 5.9 km of trails (relocations); and,
  • Rehabilitating the portions of the trail that will be retained (maintenance activities).

All of the proposed works will be carried out in a sector of Gatineau Park that has been designated as an area suitable for environmentally-friendly recreational activities. There is no road access to the trail, with the exception of chemin du Lac Meech, where parking lot P13 is located. Most of the work will be carried out manually, as a large part of the trail is not accessible to motorized vehicles. The first phase of work is scheduled for September and October 2023, which involves the removal of all vegetation at the work site. The remainder of the project works will take place from May to October 2024.

Most of the trail is located in a mature hardwood forest in the basswood maple bioclimatic domain. Several bodies of water, marshes and streams are located around the trail and are part of the Gatineau River watershed. In addition to endangered species affected by the work, select species with special status under the Québec Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species will also be affected by the work.

Positive environmental changes are expected as a result of the proposed work. The potential trampling of endangered plant species will be avoided and the quality of the surrounding watercourse features will be improved. Approximately forty (40) trees be cut down to accommodate this project.

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Latest update

September 10th, 2023 – The public comment period on the project is closed. The National Capital Commission is considering comments received to help inform its determination on whether the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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Contacts

National Capital Commission
Environmental Assessment
40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A8
Email: IA-EI@ncc-ccn.ca


  • Location

    • Gatineau Park (Quebec)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Recreation and Tourism

  • Assessment Status

    Completed

  • Start Date

    2023-08-11

  • Proponent

    National Capital Commission

  • Authorities

    • National Capital Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    85841
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

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