Histroy of the Kouchibouguac National Park
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Kouchibouguac National Park is about 1 hour and 20 minutes south of Moncton. It lies along the Acadian Coastal Drive, it also has some of the warmest salt water around. The 238km of land that the park sits on today was not always protected by the park. Many years ago 1 200 people were removed from their homes on that land so it could be reserved for wildlife and plants. People protested because not only did they lose their land that they lived on they lost their rights to fish in the ocean. Most of the people fighting for their rights back to the land were Acadians and french speaking people. Most of the problem was gone when the Acadians got deported 1800s, however some of the Acadians came back from their deportation but they left once the government got involved.
Wildlife
The wildlife is amazing at this National Park. There are colonies of 300-400 grey seals and harbour seals. In the winter they go up to Iceland following the cod fishery and they spend summers in the park. Sea lions are seen in the dunes along the beaches as well. As you explore the inland of the park you may come across snowshoe hares, moose, deer, porcupines, red fox, moose, black bears, lynx, bobcats, raccoons, beavers, coyotes and more. Coyotes have finally returned to the park after being gone because of a loss of prey in the area. The Kouchibouguac National Park is a nesting ground to 216 different species of birds, the park protects all nest throughout the breeding seasons. They are home to the second largest tern colony in North America. They tend to see around 4000 terns mate, then nest and raise the young in the park area. The park sees bald eagles and osprey nesting each season, they also see a fair number of great blue herons along riverbanks. In the past they recorded 30 species of fish some include Atlantic salmon, smelt, eel, and striped bass. They have also found starfish, shrimp snails, muscles and oysters in the water by the park.
Plants/Habitats
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There are 8 different distinct habitats that the parks people have discovered. They consist of century-old pine forests, abandoned open fields with wild flowers all over, 20 large bogs and many smaller bogs, fresh water brooks and rivers, salt marshes, lagoons and estuaries. All of the different habits helps to support the 1600 different types of plants. Some rare species of pants are the southern twayblade, carnivorous pitcher plants, sundew, and bladderworts. The park is also home to rarest orchid in Eastern Canada the Dragons Mouth. The Dragons Mouth is a beautiful pink/purple in colour and it is usually found in bogs, swamps and other humid places. Along the beaches lots of mushrooms, berries, and wild flowers grow due to the more humid conditions. Over the last 300-400 years the forests sixes have decreased to almost nothing compared to what they started out as. There is still white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir and tamarack predominate living in what is left of the forest.
What to do
There are many things to do year round at Kouchibouguac National Park, in the winter or even when the snow falls there is always cross country skiing, snowshoeing, winter walks. Throughout the other seasons you can bike the biking trails, go on canoeing trips, take walks along the sand dunes, and there is outdoor theater. One of the most adventures things you can do is explore the Kouchibouguac waterways, you can see the Common Term Colonies and the Grey Seals. The people at the National Park are trying to protect the dark sky by putting a strict lighting rule to reduce light pollution. At night time on a clear night the Kouchibouguac National Park is perfect for star and planet observing because it is one of few places where there is not a cloud of pollution over the sky.