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423 Coastal wetlands are easily seen from highways, causeways, and bridges leading to the beaches and seashore communities. For a closer look, visit a refuge, wildlife management area, park, nature sanctuary, or natural preserve owned by federal, provincial , state, or local agencies or private nonprofit organizations. These conservation areas encourage public use and often have interpretive trails through or beside the wetlands. A few may even have guided tours by park naturalists. Some tidal wetlands that are open to the public in each province or state are listed below. Undoubtedly there are others to visit; contact the local parks department or planning office for information on their location. A series of figures showing the general location of coastal marshes is presented in this section. More detailed maps showing coastal and inland wetlands may be available through the Internet or in a hard copy atlas, for example: (1) the interactive mapper for the St. Lawrence valley (http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/geo/mil/ mil001_e.html), (2) the maritime wetland inventory atlas covering the three maritime provinces (available from Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Sackville, New Brunswick; e-mail: nature@ec.gc.ca), and (3) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s wetlands mapper (http://www.fws.gov/nwi/). You can also locate tidal wetlands for a particular area by viewing satellite or digital aerial images on Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) and looking for these wetlands along coastal embayments and rivers. Eastern Canada Quebec This province’s tidal marshes can be readily observed while driving along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River on Route 132. Explore these wetlands at such places as I’Isle-Verte Migratory Bird Sanctuary (Maison Girard Interpretation Centre), Cap-St-Ignace Migratory Bird Sanctuary, the salt marshes (“battures”) of Kamouraska (along the bike path and at the halte écologique de la batture de Kamouraska), Le Bic National Park (Bic and St-Fabien), and Pointe-au-Père National Wildlife Area (East Rimouski). Tidal marshes can also be seen near the Montmagny ferry and at local parks in Port-Joli, St-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Cacouna (Fontaine Clair Cove), and Trois-Pistoles. Marshes are less common on the north shore of the St. Lawrence but can be observed at Cap-Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Baie-St-Paul, Longue-Rive, and Pointe-aux-Outardes nature park. On Appendix: Places to Explore Tidal Wetlands 424 Appendix the Gaspé Peninsula, marshes can be seen at the St-Omer Migratory Bird Sanctuary, the barachois of the Malbaie River, and Penonille Bay (Forillion National Park). Take a trip to the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and you’ll find tidal wetlands at the Pointe-de-I’Est National Wildlife Area. New Brunswick Some places to see New Brunswick’s tidal wetlands up close include the Alma Salt Marsh (Fundy National Park), Castalia Salt Marsh (Castalia, Grand Manan Island), St. Rest’s Marsh (Irving Nature Park, St. John), Mary’s Point (Shepody National Wildlife Area, Riverside), Bore-view Park and Trail (Moncton), Cape Jourimain Nature Centre (Cape Tormentine), Rotary Park (Bouctouche), La Dune de Bouctouche (Irving Nature Park, Bouctouche), Kouchibouguac National Park (Kouchibouguac), Neguac Provincial Park (Neguac), Barn Marsh Creek (Cape Enrage), New Horton Flats (Harvey Bank), Chartersville Marsh (walking trail, Dieppe), Hay Island Park (Neguac), Val Comeau Beach Trail (Grand Lake), Green Point (Four Roads), Red Head Marsh (St. John), Caron Point (Bathurst), Daly Point Nature Preserve (Bathurst), Booming Grounds Marsh (Atholville), and marshes in Sackville, Cap Lumiere, Escuminac, from Shepody to Hopewell Hill (on old railway track), and along the Musquash River (on road to South Musquash and old railway line) and the Charlo Estuary (Dalhousie). Nova Scotia Tidal marshes may be observed at John Lusby Salt Marsh (Chignecto National Wildlife Area, Amherst), Lawrencetown Beach Salt Marshes (near Halifax, part of the Cole Harbour-Lawrencetown Beach Coastal Heritage Park), Conrad’s Beach (east of Halifax), the Port Joli and Port Hebert Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (Environment Canada), Summerville Beach (Summerville Centre, near Port Joli), Rushtons Beach (east of Tatamagouche), Waterside Beach (west of Caribou River), Pondville Beach (Arichat), and in the Minas Basin, and along the Chebogue River (Arcadia and Chebogue Point, near Yarmouth). Two of the best places to see the high tides of the Bay of Fundy are in Wolfville at the Port Williams Bridge and in Hantsport at the wharf at the foot of William Street (http://www.valleyweb. com/fundytides/). Vast expanses of tidal flats can be seen in many places, especially...

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