Sable Island becomes Canadian national park

Sable Island, renowned for shipwrecks and wild horses off the coast of Nova Scotia, was named a Canadian national park by the government on Monday. Environment Minister Peter Kent, responsible for a department overseeing Canada's national parks, said an agreement was signed with the provincial government of Nova Scotia to designate the island a national park reserve. This will "ensure that this iconic and valued Canadian landscape fabled for its wild horses, shipwrecks and one of the largest dune systems in eastern Canada, will be protected as a national park reserve... for all time," the minister said in a statement. Protections include prohibiting drilling from the surface of Sable Island and out to one nautical mile, he said. The 40-kilometer (25 mile) long deserted island supports numerous migratory birds, including species at risk such as the Roseate tern and Ipswich Savannah Sparrow, as well as up to 400 wild horses. Hidden by waves, storms and fog, the sandy strip in the cold Atlantic Ocean about 290 kilometers (180 miles) offshore from Halifax, Nova Scotia has recorded more than 350 shipwrecks since 1583. Many believed the island's wild horses were shipwreck survivors, but according to the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History they were abandoned after a Boston merchant shipped them to the island in 1760. Mik'maq aboriginals, oil companies and other stakeholders were consulted on the park plan.