Moss cover rocks and fallen trees in the Great Bear Rainforest.
As the glaciers of the last Ice Age slowly began to recede, they
left behind a scoured landscape where the Great Bear Rainforest
took seed. Today only small disturbances are common, such as
"blowdowns" when a small group of trees are uprooted by heavy winds
and natural decay. Larger disturbances, such as fires, are very
rare and the variety of wildlife and plant species has increased in
response to the layers of ancient, undisturbed forest growth.
Along with the grizzly bears, black bears and spirit bears that
give this forest its name, packs of grey wolves and herds of elk
roam the large tracts of undisturbed rainforest in search of food
and shelter. In the treetops endangered marbled murrelets nest on
wide moss covered branches. Squirrels chatter nearby and the
diligent work of woodpeckers echo through the landscape. Mountain
goats scale rock cliffs, while swallows glide by under the watchful
eye of soaring eagles.
But it is the five species of wild Pacific salmon that truly
embody this magnificent rainforest. The salmon close the intricate
link between forest and ocean. This Pacific coastline is teaming
with sea lions, porpoises, and seals, and orcas, humpbacks and grey
whales all feed in these rich coastal waters. The salmon feed in
these waters too, and when they are ready to reproduce, they swim
up the coastal freshwater streams where they were born with flashes
of brilliant spawning colour.
These salmon provide a source of energy rich food for many
inhabitants of the Great Bear Rainforest. Salmon are believed to
supplement the diet of bears, adding layers of fat to see them
through winter hibernation. Rainforest wolves also catch salmon,
and research indicates that the nutrients provided increases the
survival of young wolf pups when compared to their interior
landlocked cousins. The salmon also provide a critical flush of
natural fertilizer to the forests by bringing elements such as
nitrogen from the oceans to the land in their muscles, skin and
bones, which are left to decay after spawning.
These forests are not home to animals alone. For thousands of
years, the coastal First Nations have lived here. They are the
Kwakwaka'wakw, Heiltsuk, Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, and the
Kitasoo/Xai'xais. And further north, live the Tsimshian tribes,
which include Metlakatla, Gitkxaahla and Gitga'at, the Lax
Kw'alaams, Kitsumkalum, Nisg'a and the Haisla. The islands of Haida
Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) are the traditional territory
of the Haida Nation. In the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest is
one of the earliest known coastal villages, Namu, a 14,000-year-old
site in Heiltsuk territory. The natural abundance of the region
supported the development of highly organized cultures and
intricate trade networks, and the striking style of many coastal
First Nations art and design is globally renowned.
With the arrival of the Europeans, epidemics of disease,
appropriation of resources and colonial efforts to silence and
assimilate native people had a devastating impact. Several decades
of unsustainable land management and the development of large scale
industrial logging have spread destruction throughout First
Nations' territories, and now the capacity of the land, water and
wildlife to provide for future generations is threatened.
Today, First Nations continue to fight for their unceded
ancestral lands and a just resolution of title and rights to
traditional territory is one of the most politically charged issues
debated throughout the province and Canada.