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Claire Ryan

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In the spirit of Canada Day, people across New Brunswick and throughout the Maritimes are being encouraged to parlay their patriotism into a show of support for the Bay of Fundy, Atlantic Canada's newly reinstated contender in the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest.

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Communications New Brunswick

The Bay of Fundy is the summer feeding area for 12 species of whale.

The contest is being run by the New 7 Wonders Foundation, a Zurich-based non-profit organization established in 2001 to contribute to the protection of the world's human-built and natural heritage and to foster respect for cultural diversity. During the first round of voting, the Bay of Fundy lost by a slight margin to Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park, which was later removed from the contest because it did not meet participation requirements. The Dinosaur Park's loss was the Bay of Fundy's gain, and the bay now has the opportunity to be voted through to the next round contest, wherein the top 77 sites will be selected.

"We don't always toot our own horn as often as we should," says Terri McCulloch, manager of Bay of Fundy Tourism, a non-profit organization in Parrsboro, N.S., that promotes the Bay of Fundy as a Canadian nature tourism icon. "We tend to take certain features for granted, but there are a lot of extraordinary things going on here."

As is often the case with the landmarks in our own backyards, the Bay of Fundy is a incredible asset that many of us often overlook. Beyond being home to the world's highest tides, the bay is the summer feeding area for 12 whale species, including half of the world's population of endangered North Atlantic right whales and a number of species of migratory birds. It has also been twice recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site - the upper Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, as a Biosphere Reserve, and Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Nova Scotia - a reflection of the fact the Bay of Fundy is a regional treasure.

So why vote? Because the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts - by taking a few minutes to cast a ballot, we will help bring recognition to one of our region's most important assets, spurring interest and encouraging tourism in this region.

"We're competing on a global market," McCullogh says. "I think any time you can get international recognition from an independent organization it's of great value to tourism."

As a candidate in this contest, the Bay of Fundy will be reaching a global audience - just as voters in our region become aware of the other sites simply by visiting the website, the Bay of Fundy will be popping up on computer screens worldwide as people all over the world log on to vote. Piquing interest and increasing activity around the Bay of Fundy will have positive repercussions for the entire region.

Voting for this phase of the contest closes July 7, 2009. To cast your vote for the Bay of Fundy in the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest, please visit www.votemyfundy.com.

Claire Ryan works with MT&L Public Relations Ltd. and is a member of the FUSION Saint John board. Her column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at cryan@mtlpr.ca.