Canada has announced it will establish a new national marine reserve park that will protect the Gulf Islands off the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve will cover 26 square kilometers (10 square miles) in the southern Strait of Georgia.
The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is spread out over 29 sites on 15 islands and includes over 30 islets and reefs that nurture an extraordinary diversity of coastal wildlife including orca whales, seals, otters, bald eagles, trumpeter swans and shorebirds.
The area attracts scuba divers, kayakers and wildlife watchers from around the world.
The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada is the first new national park established under the Government of Canada’s Action Plan to create ten new national parks and five marine conservation areas in next five years.
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada was made possible through lands purchased and donated since 1995 under the joint Canada-British Columbia Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy program.
The goal of the park is to protect small island ecosystems, as well as representative examples of headlands, shorelines and uplands of larger islands.
