Camp Fortune Mountain Bike Skills Park - Expansion of Existing Pump Track 300 Dunlop Road, Chelsea, Quebec

Camp Fortune has been a destination for mountain bike enthusiasts in Canada's Capital Region for over 25 years. This site was also the venue for the 2000 Canadian Championships and Olympic team selection event.  Enhancement of Camp Fortune's mountain biking experience is articulated in the 2021 Mountain Bike Master Plan that includes expansion of the existing Pump Track as part of a planned mountain bike Skills Park. The expansion consists of an additional Pump Track that is designed to safely introduce cyclists of varied skill levels to the different types of features and challenges encountered when riding the trails at Camp Fortune. 

 

The existing Pump Track is located on leased National Capital Commission (NCC) lands within Gatineau Park at Camp Fortune. Camp Fortune is designated as "Camp Fortune Intensive Recreational Area" with mountain biking identified as a permitted use within the NCC's Gatineau Park Master Plan (2021).   This proposed new Pump track, to be situated north of the existing one (see attached Map 1), is a project that is subject to a federal land use, design, and transaction approval (FLUDTA) under the National Capital Act.  This process is designed to ensure that projects on federal lands will contribute to Canada's Capital being a source of pride for Canadians.

 

The project proposes a new one meter wide and 215 meters long Pump Track with an expanded footprint of 245 square meters for use by mountain bikers with beginner to advanced skills. The track will be built primarily on native soil and on natural slopes with some modification of the ground surface to achieve the proposed design.  The proposed Pump Track includes a starting ramp, two berms, five tabletops, and six rollers. The Pump Track location was selected to provide a relatively even grade to ensure the trail speed for users is safe and easily managed. Built structures along the tracks include rock features and linear jump lines.  No wooden structures are planned for this first iteration of the Skills Park.

 

Approximately 60% of the area for the new Pump Track consists of an open grassed area adjacent to a ski run. The remaining 40% of the Pump Track area is comprised of young trees that established naturally following a fire in 1989 that destroyed the Lockeburg Lodge that had been present on this site.  There is a small wetland located greater than 15 meters east of the Pump Track, surrounded by a young forest of American ash, white birch, trembling aspen, and sugar maple that continues to the east and south of the wetland. 

 

The proposed Pump Track will be constructed using a mechanical excavator and/or loader and hand tools. A 3.5 ton mini excavator will be used to create a wide bench suitable for building tabletops. The trail tread and upslope side of the bench will be used as the on-site dirt source for tabletops. Local soil will be used as much as possible, but imported soil might be needed for surfacing up to 30 cubic meters.  Ideally, existing borrow pits along Humdinger Road, or at other sites already in use and approved by NCC, will be used for the proposed track.  Some sections of the track may require excavations to a maximum depth of 0.25 meters below the ground surface.  Any excess soil and rock material will be used for other sections of the proposed Pump Track prior to import of offsite materials.  Construction of the Pump Track will take approximately one month and is planned for late spring/early summer of 2023.

 

The project will require some thinning of the herbaceous and shrub layers in the 103 square meters located within the young forest area.  This primarily involves the removal of tree saplings less than 10 centimeters in diameter and one slightly larger tree, an American Ash that is 12 centimeters in diameter.  Removed trees will be replaced according to the established tree compensation agreement between Camp Fortune and the NCC.  No other trees are anticipated to be impacted by this project.

 

Potential impact from the project to Species at Risk (SAR) is anticipated to be low as no SAR were observed during site surveys. Milk snake, a species whose habitat consists of old fields and rocky outcrops on the edges of woodlots, might be present on the site but this species was not detected through the site surveys.

 

The potential for negative impacts from the project on the nearby wetland is expected to be low because the Pump Track will be constructed more than 15 meters away from the edge of the wetland. The slope of two short track sections closest to the wetland will drain to the southwest, away from the wetland, to avoid accumulation of sediments in this feature.

 

Overall, no environmental impacts are anticipated through completion of the new Pump Track at Camp Fortune.  Mitigation measures have been developed to avoid potential environmental impacts from the Pump Track construction and operation.  This project will fulfill directions for enhanced mountain biking experiences at Camp Fortune that have been articulated in the Camp Fortune's Mountain Bike Trails Master Plan (2021) and the NCC's Gatineau Park Master Plan (2021).

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Latest update

June 22, 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

    • Camp Fortune (Quebec)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Recreation and Tourism

  • Assessment Status

    Completed

  • Start Date

    2023-05-23

  • Proponent

    Camp Fortune

  • Authorities

    • National Capital Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    84619
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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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