Bay of Fundy advances in New7Wonders contest

PARRSBORO - The Bay of Fundy has made the top 77 in the global New7Wonders of Nature contest.
The Bay of Fundy is the only Canadian site to achieve top-77 status in the contest.
"This is a very exciting time for us and all Canadians. It is an honour to be representing Canada in this contest," said Terri McCulloch, manager, Bay of Fundy Tourism.
"This is truly a historic milestone for Canada to have our own Bay of Fundy achieve such international recognition."
The next stage of the contest will be decided by a panel of experts from the New7Wonders of Nature.
"We want to thank everyone for taking the time to vote for the Bay of Fundy. It is a true testament to all the support we have received," McCulloch added.
The top 28 international nature sites (shortlisted July 21) will be part of a worldwide tour and public voting will resume again throughout the rest of 2009 and 2010 to declare the final top New7Wonders of Nature.
The New7Wonders of Nature campaign began in 2007 with more than 440 participating locations from more than 220 countries.
At the end of 2008, 261 participants qualified as national and multinational nominees. The second phase of voting, which ended Tuesday, an-nounced the top 77 nominees by popular vote.
In the next stage of the contest, the New7Wonders independent panel of experts will select 28 final candidates. The 28 finalists will be announced at the New7Wonders Foundation headquarters in Zurich.
The Bay of Fundy is best known for the highest tides in the world and has been compared, in marine biodiversity, to the Amazon Rainforest.
The Bay is the summer feeding area for half the world's population of endangered North Atlantic right whales and 12 other whale species.
It is home to the world's most complete fossil record of the Coal Age (300 million years ago) as well as the world's oldest reptiles and Canada's oldest dinosaurs.
UNESCO recently recognized the upper Bay of Fundy as a biosphere reserve and Joggins Fossil Cliffs as a World Heritage Site.