Baie de l'Isle-Verte (French for "Green Island Bay") is a coastal

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

along the southern shore of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 27, 1987, is classified as a globally significant

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

, and contains a

National Wildlife Area A National Wildlife Area is a conservation designation for a geographical region in Canada that restricts most human activities on that region. However, land use permits may be issued "for activities that are compatible with conservation". Su ...

and Migratory Bird Sanctuary. It is located in the

Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality Rivière-du-Loup () is a regional county municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. Its most important city is Rivière-du-Loup, which contains more than half of the population. Major industries include pulp and paper, ot ...

, in the municipality of

L'Isle-Verte L'Isle-Verte () is a small municipality located along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, in the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Quebec, Canada. The name of the village refers to '' Île Ver ...

. Within the wetland is a 797 hectare area managed by the

Canadian Wildlife Service The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (), is a Branch of the Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada, a department of the Government of Canada. Founded in 1947 as Dominion Wildlife Service, it is Canada's national wildlife agency resp ...

, of which 406 hectares was designated a National Wildlife Area in 1980. This was created to protect the spartina marshes, which

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

is an important breeding area for the American black duck and other migratory

Anatidae The Anatidae are the biological family (biology), family of water birds that includes ducks, goose, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted f ...

. It also consists of recreational facilities including

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails and observation towers, as well as exhibits on

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

lands and

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean.

es at the Maison Girard Interpretation Centre, and summer school programmes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baie De L'isle-Verte Ramsar sites in Canada Important Bird Areas of Quebec Bays of Quebec Landforms of Bas-Saint-Laurent Protected areas of Bas-Saint-Laurent