Great Bear Rainforest
Great Bear Rainforest, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
by Sarah Gertzen
The Great Bear Rainforest(GBR) houses 50 percent of Canada's endangered Grizzly bears, alongside the Kermode "Spirit" bear - a subspecies of the Black bear. With a supreme location just north of Knight Inlet and down to the Princess Royal Island, GBR is one of the largest areas of temperate rainforests, taking up 1.2 percent of Canada's land mass. Sizing at 6.5 million hectares (25 percent of the world's rainforests) it provides homes for many wildlife and plants. While the many salmon streams - which hold 5 different species of salmon - are weaving about the rainforest floor; there are Orca Whales swimming and feeding every Spring and Summer in the Pacific Ocean just next door. Above the water lies a high population of red cedar trees over 1000 years old and 90-metre tall Sitka Spruce trees.
The rainforest itself is home to more animals, including mountain goats, eagles, tailed frogs, goshawks, woodpeckers and marbled murrelet. More than six million hectares (6.8 million) seems like a lot of land to house these animals, but let's consider the fact that this rainforest used to be double its size; it once covered the entire coastline. Now with only 2 million hectares of this rainforest designated and protected park land, it could continue to shrink. Ninety-seven percent of the conifer seedlings grow on decaying logs, stumps or snags and are also home to many animals and insects. Considering the fact that this rainforest also holds 50 percent of the world population of grizzly bears, protecting the area is crucial.
I'm going to lay down some facts. Ok, it's only one fact, but it's a big one. The rainforest is being destroyed by the act of clear-cutting. I'm not an environmentalist by any means, I'm merely speaking from my own point of view. The act of clear-cutting a rainforest to make toilet paper and disposable diapers seems odd and displaced. Let's not forget to mention how many materials can be recycled these days to create such items for our first-world pleasures.
Let's now steer away from the depressing part and focus on the natural beauty that this rainforest holds. With the many variations of majestic wildlife and plant life this rainforest gifts us with, why would we not want to view and marvel its majestic and ancient wonder? There are many tourism venues such as Maple Leaf Adventures and Ocean Adventures to tour you through the rainforest both by boat and land - which I highly suggest so that you can enjoy your views while someone tells you the facts. I always find that this is much better than trying to read a fact book and trying to look at the view.
Enjoy the adventure and keep in mind the size. Don't get lost and hey, maybe I'll see you there!
Important resources: Weather - Road conditions Dump stations