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Sable Island Canada's Newest National Park

First Posted: 10/17/11 09:56 AM ET Updated: 10/19/11 04:31 PM ET

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Sable Island
Sable Island's iconic horses.

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government has reached a deal with Ottawa to make Sable Island the country's newest national park.

Premier Darrell Dexter signed the agreement in Halifax with Peter Kent, the minister responsible for Parks Canada.

The crescent-shaped island sits about 300 kilometres southeast of Nova Scotia and is home to 400 wild horses, as well as breeding grey seals and numerous bird species.

The island, which is 42 kilometres long, is also known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic for the more than 200 wrecked ships off its coastline.

Nova Scotia and Ottawa will table legislation to prohibit oil and gas drilling from the surface of Sable Island and out to one nautical mile from shore.

Dexter said Sable Island holds a special place in the hearts of Nova Scotians and he's pleased it will be protected as a park reserve.

"The mystique of Sable has always been a part of Nova Scotia's identity," he told a news conference Monday at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site.

"Images of those Sable horses with their manes whipped back in the Atlantic winds are ingrained in our collective memories. In fact, they're on the walls of my house."

Kent said the agreement ensures protection of the island's unique character and landscape.

"At the same time, we will offer Canadians opportunities to discover, appreciate and understand this iconic treasure," he said.

Plans to protect Sable Island have long been in the works.

Ottawa received recommendations in 2009 to add the island to its list of national parks. In January 2010, the provincial and federal governments committed to pursuing status for the island as a protected area.

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HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government has reached a deal with Ottawa to make Sable Island the country's newest national park.Premier Darrell Dexter signed the agreement in Halifax with Peter Kent, the ...
HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government has reached a deal with Ottawa to make Sable Island the country's newest national park.Premier Darrell Dexter signed the agreement in Halifax with Peter Kent, the ...
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Beautiful World
85 Fans
11:16 AM on 10/18/2011
Wonderful news . Any move towards protecting our environment, I support.
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evecaren
Every cloud has a silver lining
477 Fans
03:01 PM on 10/19/2011
I agree with your post about protecting our environment. I'm very glad that the
Nova Scotian government reached a deal with Ottawa to make Sable Island a National
Park and hopefully protect all of its amazing animal inhabitants.
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
155 Fans
05:17 PM on 10/17/2011
Damn that Stephen Harper and his making of all these parks!
Obviously his hidden agenda was to govern Canada well.
That sneaky son of a gun....
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
piceaglauca
The picture says it all....
294 Fans
 
05:13 PM on 10/17/2011
This is absolutely fantastic and a great opportunity for NS. Since the closing of the ferry from US to NS and the decline in the tourist trade this well needed site will hopefully be accessible to all travellers. Though on a different shore it still will provide great benefits overall.Historically, there is much history here from the horses to the search for treasure. Physically the island boasts a tremendous island ecosystem wanting protection. Great asset to Canada's legacy.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Timma
nihil habentes omnia posidentes
2074 Fans
 
01:09 PM on 10/17/2011
Good for Canada. But not here. In the good o USofA we're putting our nation's natural treasures to much better use - diggin' 'em up faster than we can preserve them for gold, oil, minerals you name it WOOHOO!
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
155 Fans
05:17 PM on 10/17/2011
ANWAR?
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evecaren
Every cloud has a silver lining
477 Fans
10:24 AM on 10/17/2011
I sincerely hope now that Sable Island has been officially declared a naitonal park, that all it's animal inhabitants will remain protected including the grey seals that live on Sable Island. There was an article a few weeks ago that stated there was a proposal to cull 140,000 grey seals on Sable Island over five years. The argument was that the grey seals were eating so much cod that they were interferring with cod stocks according to the fishmerman. I think the prospect of such a mass killing of these grey seals is appalling and there is no scientific evidence to prove that the seals are interferring with the cod stocks. In fact, it appears that the grey seals are infact helping to increase the cod stock in that area which has been greatly depleted because of major overfishing. The decision to kill these amazing grey seals has yet to be made and would not take effect until next year. It is an appalling and horrendous idea. To read a fascinating article called "Are Grey Seals kick-starting a Cod Recovery? " written Nov. 30, 2010 go to www.greyseal.net. The grey seals are not responsible for low cod stocks around Sable Island as the fisherman would have you believe. Many years of overfishing have majorly depleted the cod stocks and now the grey seals are being blamed. Help stop this horrendous proposal and help save the seals by informing yourself and other people about this.
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
155 Fans
05:20 PM on 10/17/2011
European fishermen shoot seals all the time...
They let the carcasses go to waste.
It's open season on them.
Which is kind of odd when they ban seals from Canada.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2009/05/hunting_cuddly_baby_seals_euro
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evecaren
Every cloud has a silver lining
477 Fans
09:13 AM on 10/18/2011
Your reply to my comment does not really have anything to do with the issue
of the seals on Sable Island. As I mentioned in my post, the grey seals of
Sable island are being blamed for the depletion of the cod stocks surrounding
Nova Scotial. Grey seals don't only eat cod. They eat other types of fish too.
The fisherman see them as competiton, so they're blaming the seals when in fact
fifty odd years of major over fising in the ocean has caused the depletion of the
cod. " A stable, healthy ocean ecosystem needs large natural predators, and all other big predators in Atlantic Canada, besides seals, have recently been eliminated."
" A mass harvest of seals today carries a greater ecological risk to the ocean than it did when great hordes of predatory fish shared the waters (cod,shark,halibut,etc.)
and shared the seals' ecological role." Culling or killing thousands of seals would
greatly disturb the ocean's ecosystem. People need to stop interring with the delicate balance of the ocean's ecosystem and European fisherman who also kill seals because they see seals as competiton are also greatly effecting the ocean's eco system. You say "it's open season on seals". Well, maybe it's high time
people rethink what kind of future impact these so called "seal hunts" will have on future generations. C. S. you needn't reply to this post. Nothing you can say
will change my mind on this issue.
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