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...is a national park located on the east coast of New Brunswick in Kouchibouguac and was established in 1969 to preserve a section of the Canadian Maritime Plain region. The park includes barrier islands, sand dunes, lagoons, salt marshes and forests. It provides habitats for at least 15 species protected under the Canadian Species at Risk Act, including the endangered piping plover, and the second largest tern colony in North America. Colonies of harbour seals and grey seals inhabit the park's 25 kilometres (16 mi) of sand dunes. It is also home to the extremely rare and fragile Gulf of St. Lawrence aster, though in 2006, storms eradicated most of the asters' colonies.

History

The park was founded by Parks Canada in 1969 in order to set aside sensitive sand dunes and bogs. The region is included in traditional unceded Mi'gmaq territory, and was used by local Indigenous Peoples for hunting, fishing, plant harvest, trade and living before even the first European settlers. The rules of the time dictated that all permanent residents had to be removed for a park to be created. These residents were mostly descendants of the Mi'gmaq, and the Acadians, whose ancestors had been deported. Most of these peoples' livelihoods depended fishing, hunting, agriculture, forestry and tourism.

Management

In 2009, Kouchibouguac National Park was designated as a Dark-sky preserve in order to protect nocturnal habitats, limit light pollution, and to increase appreciation for the cultural heritage associated with the night sky.

In 2010, a management plan was published outlining four "Key Strategies" pertaining to the parks management and relationship to the public. In 2017, the 2010 management plan was reviewed, including a State of the Park Assessment. Key concerns for improvement included:

• Weathering infrastructure such as roads and service buildings.
• Insufficient cultural resource preservation and access for descendant populations or visitors.
• Improving co-management relationship between stakeholders, especially between Mi'gmaq Peoples, park managers, and recognizing Indigenous values.
• Increased recreational activity, especially fishing of softshell clam and brook trout, and that the park is accessible both by land and by sea, making management of illegal activity or extreme weather events (such as wildfires or flooding) more challenging.
• Terrestrial and marine invasive species.
• Increased peripheral development projects and urbanization.
• Climate change and related symptoms, in particular sea level rise, exacerbated storms, and barrier island and dune erosion.

As of 2021, the Kouchibouguac National Park Management Plan describes a long-term plan to implement four "Key Strategies" into the park's management by 2071. The Plan was created by Parks Canada in response to both the Parks Canada Agency Act and the Canada National Parks Act, and involves a variety of stakeholders, including local Indigenous Peoples, notably the Mi'gmaq, descendants of Acadian and English permanent residents who had been expropriated to create the park, economic partners, and the Canadian public. Parks Canada is required to release an annual report on the efficacy of the Key Strategies and overall progress, and to continue to receive comments from stakeholders on the implementation of the Plan over time. Parks Canada is required to officially review the Plan at least every ten years, but may do so sooner in the interest of maintaining appropriate management strategies. The Kouchibouguac National Park Management Plan's four "Key Strategies" are summarized as:

1. "A healthy and resilient park." To properly document the environmental systems, human activity, and ecological threats in the region, and to use this information to improve its ecosystem functions and mitigate habitat degradation.
2. "A park at the forefront." To continue to present to visitors contemporary management strategies of the landscape, and to maintain modern, sustainably powered amenities and recreation where applicable.
3. "Reflection of engaged communities." To continue to include the variety of stakeholders in the decision-making process, to continue to nurture the relationships between Kouchibouguac National Park, Mi'gmaq partners, and former residents of the region, and to improve the cultural resource management of over 30 Indigenous and four non-Indigenous archaeological sites.
4. "Highly satisfied visitors throughout the year." To enhance the selection of year-round recreational and cultural activities for visitors while continuing to safeguard and promote ecological integrity, and to become an exemplary winter-season destination.