Ottawa pledges support for Sable Island researchers

Halifax Chronicle Herald, February 1, 2005

By Our Staff

Ottawa has agreed to resume its support for researchers who live and work on Sable Island.

Four researchers at the Sable Island Meteorological Station, who study everything from the island's famed wild horses to climate change and pollution, faced layoffs in March.

But federal Environment Minister Stephane Dion and Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan on Monday announced plans to continue a year-round human presence on the island, 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax.

Mr. Dion said the "special history and unique scientific and ecological value" of the island must be "preserved for generations to come. We believe the best way to achieve this is by keeping a human presence on the island."

The federal government's decision to reassume management and operation of the station responds to warnings from the Sable Island Preservation Trust, which faced a half-million-dollar shortfall.

The trust, a non-profit charitable group, took over the management of the centre, the only permanently staffed facility on the island, in 2000.

The federal government was looking to cut costs and the trust feared it would abandon the station.

The trust wants to focus its energy on public education, research and conservation.