Ottawa announces partnership agreement with Sable Island Institute

Horses on Sable Island, N.S., are shown in this undated handout photo. (Parks Canada)

HALIFAX -- The federal government and a Halifax-based organization have struck a new agreement to help protect Sable Island -- the windswept sandbar off Nova Scotia famous for its wild horses.

Parks Canada says the new partnership agreement formalizes its ongoing relationship with the Sable Island Institute, a not-for-profit organization that carries out environmental monitoring, biodiversity surveys and public outreach.

The department says it will work with the institute to reinstate a beach monitoring program for the 42-kilometre-long island.

The agreement also provides a framework for the Sable Island Institute to develop educational and outreach programs, including a series of science and art workshops.

Ottawa recently announced $3.4 million to remove surplus buildings and other debris from Sable Island National Park Reserve, and to design energy measures to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Dubbed the Graveyard of the Atlantic, some 350 vessels have been wrecked on the island's shores and hidden reefs since the mid-1700s.

It is home to hundreds of namesake horses, which have roamed there since the 18th century and become synonymous with its romantic and untamed image.

Situated about 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax in the North Atlantic, it has a weather station, two light stations, an airstrip and a few buildings used mainly by researchers. Canada's first life-saving station was built there in 1801.

It's also home to one of the world's largest breeding colonies of grey seals, and hundreds of bird and plant species.