Kouchibouguac

Kouchibouguac extends over some 238 km² on the east coast of New Brunswick and was created in 1969 to preserve a sample of the Canadian Maritime Plain region, in particular its most sensitive dunes and bogs. The landscape is made up of barrier islands, dune bars, shallow lagoons, salt marshes, estuaries and forest, a coastal mosaic uncommon in Canada. Its 25 kilometres of golden sand dunes are the park's most recognisable feature.

That coastal system gives refuge to around fifty species protected under the Species at Risk Act. The most emblematic is the piping plover, a small, threatened wader that each spring returns from the Caribbean to nest directly on the sand, in shallow scrapes where it camouflages the eggs among pebbles, shells and driftwood. The park's open beaches are among the most productive breeding areas in Atlantic Canada, but they also leave nests and chicks highly exposed to predators, footsteps and storms; with fewer than 250 breeding pairs in the whole country, the park devotes considerable resources to monitoring and recovering them. Kouchibouguac also holds the second largest tern colony in North America and colonies of harbour seal and grey seal.

The park also has a marked cultural dimension: it is Mi'gmaq and Acadian territory, and that double heritage forms part of the story of the place. It is designated a dark-sky preserve, which makes it a good place for astronomical observation, and it has an extensive network of trails and cycle paths running along the coast. As at Forillon, its creation involved expropriations that caused a prolonged social conflict in the district.