Rock climber Al Dimond scales Eardley Escarpment in Gatineau Park. (Courtesy of Adam Phillips)

Rock climbers in the Ottawa-Gatineau region are angry with the National Capital Commission after it said Wednesday it would scale back climbing routes on the Eardley Escarpment in Gatineau Park.

Before the announcement, climbers were able to scale more than 400 routes along the 300-metre-high rock face. The NCC will now restrict the routes to about 40 as part of a new conservation plan to protect plant species surrounding the escarpment. The commission is concerned climbers are trampling endangered plants and disrupting wildlife.

"The rock climbing is now happening all over the ecosystem and we need to address that," said Michel Viens, the NCC's senior manager of natural resources and land management.

Eric Grenier, chair of the Ottawa-Gatineau Climbers' Access Coalition, said the new restrictions are unfair because most climbers are already careful not to disturb the ecosystem.

"You'll be hard pressed to find a group of people who care more about the environment ... than people who spend as much of their free time in it as much as they can," said Grenier, who has been climbing for about six years.

Grenier agreed that conservation is important, but said cutting back the climbing routes so drastically was "not a realistic expectation."

He said the area's climbers want to work with the commission on an alternative.

"We haven't been given an opportunity to be a part of a solution," he said. "Finding the balance between recreation and conservation should be what a park — a public park — is all about."

Grenier and his fellow climbers will be able to voice their concerns soon. The NCC said it plans to meet with the climbers' association to discuss the new plan in the coming weeks.