What are the top threats faced by this forest?

Threatened Ecosystems - Clearcut logging is an ongoing threat to the Great Bear Rainforest's natural legacy. Widespread clearcutting has already destroyed 80 per cent of British Columbia's large rainforest valleys. Every day, more endangered forests and ancient trees are cut down, destroying critical habitat for terrestrial species, such as deer, wolves and grizzly bears that rely on the forest for shelter and food.   Other threats to Great Bear include the potential lifting of the moratorium on offshore oil and drilling in Hecate Strait. Mining operations also impact the Great Bear. Lastly, aquaculture development impacts the life blood of the forest: salmon. Outbreaks of sea lice and other negative side effects of salmon farms in the Great Bear endanger the multitude of wild Pacific Salmon that run each year to sustain the very ecosystem of the forest.  

Threatened Communities - Large-scale industrial development, such as clearcut forestry, not only threatens the ecosystems and wildlife of the Great Bear Rainforest, it weakens the region's communities. For over 50 years, British Columbia has adhered to a forest strategy based on cutting high volumes of wood to produce low-value products, exporting primarily raw logs and dimensional lumber. This strategy has failed repeatedly because dwindling timber supplies combined with high operating costs and increased mechanization has led to fewer jobs, forced mills to close, and underscores the need for community economic development that is based on sustainable use of resources, value-added production and innovative economic diversification solutions.

What kind of ecosystem is the Great Bear Rainforest?

The Great Bear Rainforest encompasses mostly coastal temperate rainforest ecosystems, but also transitions into  need specifics - coastal temperate made up of cedar, balsam, spruce, hemlock. Transition into dry interior plateau  - species?  

What protection measures are in place for the GBR?

An interim agreement exists with the Provincial government, environmental groups, industry and others to protect the most important areas of the Great Bear Rainforest, change logging practices and support a sustainable future for local communities.  However, until negotiations between the Province and First Nation governments are completed, long-term protection is legislated and a more sustainable approach to resource management is in place, the situation remains dire.

photos: Adrian Dorst (banner), Tom Green (centre)