Pituamkek National Park Reserve Explained

Pituamkek National Park Reserve (also Hog Island Sandhills) is a Canadian national park reserve encompassing a chain of barrier islands along the northern coast of Prince Edward Island. The park reserve was formally established on July 4, 2024, with a proposed protected area of approximately, although the boundaries of the park reserve are not yet finalized.

Natural area

The national park reserve includes a 50km (30miles) chain of barrier islands stretching from the Cascumpec Sand Hills in the northwest to the Malpeque Sand Hills in the southeast, with Conway Sand Hills in between. The area also includes Oulton's Island near Alberton, Hog Island near the Lennox Island First Nation, and several small islands in Malpeque Bay including Bird, Ram, and Courtin Islands, and also includes a strip of land along the Prince Edward Island shore.[1] The estimated area of the park reserve is ; the boundaries of the protected area have not been finalized.[2]

The barrier islands separate Cascumpec and Malpeque Bays from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and protect the main shore from severe weather events. Both bays are designated Important Bird Areas which include the respective sand hills and some of the islands.[3] [4] The sand dunes provide habitat and nesting ground for several threatened species including the piping plover and little brown bat.[5] Situated within the chain is Iron Rock, an unusual igneous rock formation and the only volcanic incursion in the province.[6]

Background

The barrier islands are known in Mi'kmaq as Mi'kmaq; Micmac: pituamkek ("at the long sand dune"). The land has been inhabited and used as traditional hunting and fishing grounds by Indigenous peoples from the Woodlands period through to post-European contact, with archaeological sites dated to 4,000 years old.[6] [7]

The Canadian government purchased Hog Island in 1942 to be added to the nearby Lennox Island First Nation, however the purchased land was never designated a reserve. Lennox Island submitted a Specific Land Claim over Hog Island to Canada on December 3, 1996.[8]

In 2006, representatives from the Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations and the Canadian Museum of Civilization surveyed the islands. This survey identified several sites of archaeological interest, including a shell midden site dating to 2,300 YBP.[7] [6] [9] Known as Mi'kmaq; Micmac: pitawelkek ("where tea is made"), evidence suggests it was used seasonally for fishing, shellfish harvesting, and for hunting seal and walrus, as well as for tool-making and pottery.[7]

In 2009, the Mi'kmaq band governments of Prince Edward Island began lobbying the provincial and federal governments for protection of the land. Over the next several years the three governments worked towards a formal system of protection, while the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Island Nature Trust began purchasing land on Cascumpec and Conway Sand Hills.[6] A feasibility assessment for a new national park reserve was announced on August 14, 2019.[10]

The 2024-25 Canadian federal budget, released on April 16, 2024, committed over twelve years to establish a national park reserve at Pituamkek, plus an additional annually for operations.[11] The park reserve was formally established through the signing of a co-management agreement between the Mi'kmaq of Prince Edward Island and Parks Canada on July 4, 2024.[12] [13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Establishment of the 48th National Park in Canada Pituamkek National Park Reserve . Parks Canada . August 6, 2024 . September 8, 2024 . September 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240908203620/https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/cnpn-cnnp/pituamkek/visit . live .
  2. Web site: Memorandum of understanding for proposed National Park Reserve in Pituamkek (Hog Island and the Sandhills) . January 19, 2022 . Parks Canada . September 8, 2024 .
  3. Web site: Cascumpec Bay/Alberton Harbour . IBA Canada . . September 10, 2024 . September 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240910142746/https://www.ibacanada.ca/site.jsp?siteID=PE003&sortBy=T . live .
  4. Web site: Malpeque Bay . IBA Canada . . September 9, 2024 . September 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240909180202/https://www.ibacanada.ca/site.jsp?siteID=PE001&sortBy=T . live .
  5. News: Mi'kmaq Confederacy updating members on Hog Island land claim . CBC News . August 6, 2019 . May 14, 2024 . May 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240514145823/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-mi-kmaq-confederacy-hog-island-information-session-1.5237224 . live .
  6. Web site: First Look At The Proposed Pituamkek National Park Reserve . Jennifer . Bain . July 18, 2022 . National Parks Traveler . May 14, 2024 . May 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240514145823/https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2022/07/first-look-proposed-pituamkek-national-park-reserve . live .
  7. Pitawelkek: A 2000-Year-Old Archaeological Site in Malpeque Bay . Helen . Kristmanson . Island Magazine . 84 . 2–14 . PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation . September 8, 2024 . Island Archives, University of Prince Edward Island . September 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240908214146/https://islandarchives.ca/islandora/object/vre:402 . live .
  8. Web site: The settlement of the Hog Island Specific Claim . L'nuey . September 9, 2024 . September 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240909181639/https://lnuey.ca/negotiations/hog-island/ . live .
  9. As sea level rises, these people show us how to cope . Alanna . Mitchell . . December 16, 2015 . National Geographic Society . September 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210511224122/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/151214-lennox-island-canada-climate-change-erosion . May 11, 2021 . live .
  10. . Government of Canada and PEI Mi'kmaq First Nations working together to protect the Hog Island Sandhills . Charlottetown . Parks Canada . Parks Canada . August 14, 2019 . September 9, 2024 . August 14, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210814105905/https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2019/08/government-of-canada-and-pei-mikmaq-first-nations-working-together-to-protect-the-hog-island-sandhills.html . live .
  11. News: 'We're going to be welcoming the world here,' Lennox Island chief says of new park funding . Carolyn . Ryan . CBC News . April 17, 2024 . September 9, 2024 . September 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240909173428/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-indigenous-economic-funding-budget-1.7176455 . live .
  12. Web site: Pituamkek National Park Reserve . L'nuey . September 9, 2024 . September 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240908020813/https://lnuey.ca/negotiations/parks-canada/ . live .
  13. . Government of Canada and Mi'kmaq Nation Government of Epekwitk reach agreement to establish the 48th national park in Canada . Lennox Island, Prince Edward Island . Parks Canada . Parks Canada . July 4, 2024 . September 9, 2024 . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710015341/https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2024/07/government-of-canada-and-mikmaq-nation-government-of-epekwitk-reach-agreement-to-establish-the-48th-national-park-in-canada.html . live .

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