GRAND RAPIDS, MI (AP)-- About half of the Lake Superior waters and much of the shoreline belonging to the Canadian government are now under the country's highest level of federal protection.
Canadian officials say the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area was formally established June 24 to protect a 3,800-square-mile area in the province of Ontario. Parks Canada says it's now one of the largest freshwater marine protected areas in the world.
The Grand Rapids Press reports that the designation prohibits dumping, mining and extraction of gas or oil in the lakebed , islands or shoreline within the area.
Plans for the designation were first announced in 2007 by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The legislation was passed in the Canadian Parliament last month.