Provincial
• The Anchorage Provincial Park, located between Grand Harbour and Seal Cove, is home to the Grand Manan Migratory Bird Sanctuary, camping, beautiful sand beach, numerous trails (including a board walk through a wooden area that leads to Red Point, a bog walk where parasitic pitcher plants and sundews grow and other wooded trails, complete with bird blinds) and a large seaside picnic area. Tame rabbits abound.
• Red Point, part of the Anchorage Provincial Park, is best known for the geologic contact where two different ages of rocks come into contact along a fault line the length of Grand Manan from Whale Cove to Red Point.
• Castalia Marsh is part of the provincial day parks. The largest salt marsh on the island, it also has a sunken forest, picnic area, platforms to observe birds, and tide pools.
Specifically for Birds
• Migratory Bird Sanctuaries were designed to afford protection to migrating birds along their migratory routes. There are specific regulations with regards to Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, including keeping pets on leash while in a sanctuary. There are two specific to the Grand Manan area:
• Grand Manan Migratory Bird Sanctuary was implemented in 1931 is 250 ha (620 acres) and encompasses a good portion of the provincial park.
• Machias Seal Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary was implemented in 1944 and is 9.5 ha (23 acres), comprising the Island plus all waters within 1 statutory mile of the high water mark.
• Birdlife Important Bird Areas (IBA) Canada: Several IBAs are designated in the lower Bay of Fundy, with the first two listed specific to the Grand Manan area. IBA Program is a science-based initiative to identify, conserve, and monitor a network of sites that provide essential habitat for Canada’s bird populations.
– Machias Seal Island
– Grand Manan Archipelago
– The Wolves Archipelago
– Quoddy Region
– Point LePreau/Maces Bay
• The Ducks Unlimited Pond is located off Bancroft Road, near the Airport. Built in 1990, it is provides an area for migratory waterfowl and you may be able to find some owls.
• Bowdoin Scientific Station in Three Islands (Kent, Sheep and Hay), a project of Bowdoin College. Kent Island was donated to Bowdoin College in the 1930s by Sterling Rockefeller.
Specifically for Whales
• North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat established in 2009 as part of the Species at Risk Act to provide additional protection for endangered North Atlantic Right Whales. It delineates an area east of Grand Manan including the Grand Manan Basin that is important to right whales while they are in the Bay of Fundy. It replaced the North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation Zone.
Nature New Brunswick Nature Preserves
• Designed to protect land from development, there are three nature preserves on Grand Manan and two others of relevance on the way to Grand Manan:
– Meredith Houseworth Memorial Shoreline
– Thomas B. Munroe Memorial Shoreline
– The Wolves Archipelago
– Quoddy Region
– Point LePreau/Maces Bay
