Federal Government to fund cleanup of buildings, debris on iconic Sable Island

Sable Island – the windswept sandbar off Nova Scotia famous for its wild horses and the world’s largest breeding colony of grey seals – is getting federal money for a cleanup.

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

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The island has a centuries-long history of human inhabitants, and evidence of that history – such as unused buildings and debris, including hazardous debris – remain on the isolated island, posing a risk to its sensitive ecosystems.

Nova Scotia MP Sean Fraser, parliamentary secretary to the federal environment minister, says the project will help preserve the 42-kilometre-long island for future generations.

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

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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.