See It Before It's Gone By Steve MacDonald, Nicole Pointon, David Pye, Gene Shannon, Dawn Matheson, Bruce Ramsay, Rupa Parekh, Andrew Findlay Jun 1, 2007

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  Climate change, overdevelopment and our relentless pursuit of convenience threaten not only obscure endangered species, but some of Canada ’s most iconic destinations—both natural and man-made—as well. See these 11 places before they’re gone forever. Or better yet, help save them for future generations

       

               

Prince Edward Island Dunes

Sand is disappearing from Prince Edward Island’s shores—and while time is running out, it isn’t slipping through an hourglass. Precious dunes are under amphibious assault: Mother Nature on one side, beachgoers on the other. With rising sea levels and storms, every wave takes its toll, and every step off existing pathways destroys the root structures that bind the dunes together, sealing the fate of these unique seaside ecosystems.

 

TIME LEFT Estimates put the vanishing act at anywhere from a metre in the next 150 years to eight metres in the next 50 years. Storm surges, however, can wipe out a whole dune system in just a few hours.

 

SEE IT Don’t just pull up to any beach and start trampling. Prince Edward Island National Park has an interpretive centre at Greenwich on the north shore, where you can explore the dunes with minimal impact

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