Spirit Bear: Safeguarding What We Have Protected, by Wayne McCrory, Valhalla Wilderness Society Director

On Feb. 7, 2006, the BC government and First Nations made a major announcement to increase protection from nine percent to 34 percent of the Great Bear Rainforest. The 108 new protection areas included a large preserve for the "Spirit" or Kermode black bear subspecies. Approximately 80 percent of the Valhalla Wilderness Society's (VWS) original spirit bear proposal (started in 1987) is now protected by legislation. Two other VWS key focal areas for protection were also announced. This included tripling the size of the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (to 143,000 ha or 350,000 acres) and protection of the Dundas Archipelago (23,645 ha or 58,000 acres). Unfortunately, the Khutzeymateen additions have not yet been enacted by government. The remainder of the coast will be open to logging with plans to eventually adopt more ecologically friendly tree cutting.

While many appreciate that the government recently improved coastal protection to 34%, we have also known from a study by 17 scientists known as the Coastal Information Team (CIT) that the minimum amount required to preserve coastal biodiversity should be 44-50%. Some leading scientists say it should even be more. If the Great Bear Rainforest is to be truly saved, more protected areas are obviously needed. The Valhalla Society is dedicated to seeing more areas protected. However, over the past years the government has allowed the timber industry to high-grade log key ecological areas once slated for protection. Just last year, the government allowed the export out of the country of some 9,600 truckloads of raw logs from ancient coastal rainforests.

After a protected area has been established, there is alot of work required to make sure it is truly protected. The government is now doing a management plan, but only for Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy, one of the 11 conservancies that make up the Spirit Bear Conservancy Complex. The government has also commissioned a bear-viewing study, which will have some influence on the management plan. This process had just started and VWS will be making submissions to the government about these plans.

One of the concerns we will be addressing is the ongoing problems with helicopter tourism in new protected areas and other bear habitats. This includes King Pacific Lodge, which disturbs bears by low flights, landings on estuaries, and along salmon rivers. We continue to receive complaints from other tour operators and First Nations on this matter. VWS also continues to monitor ecosystem-based logging in the logging zones, as well as doing research in new areas with high conservation values.

Gribble Island and Green Inlet-Valley should be added to Spirit Bear Protection

Since the 2006 announcements, some selection logging using helicopters has taken place in both areas. Although this logging is definitely an improvement over former roading and clear cutting, we are still working to see these areas added to the Conservancy Complex. In 2008, we will be submitting to the Gitga'at First Nations a draft briefing document that asks for protection of Gribble Island. It is 19,600 hectares, and we feel if logging continues, it could threaten the unique gene pool of Kermode bear, which has the highest incidence of white bears anywhere on the coast.

Also, the island has become the premiere bear-viewing area run by Gitga'at guides that now generates considerable income for the community. For the Green Inlet Valley, the good news is that the Kitasoo First Nation have indicated that they have no plans to do further logging for five years. Hopefully, we can all work together to encourage them to protect it. The Green has a huge salmon run, a reversing tidal river, grizzly and Kermode bears as well as the largest stand of giant Sitkaspruce in the spirit bear area. It should never be logged.

Grizzly bear No-Hunting Reserves

Besides the large grizzly bear no-hunting reserve that has existed around the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary since 1982, the planning tables agreed to two new reserves on the central coast. Such reserves, called Grizzly Bear Management Areas (GBMAs), are intended to have grizzly hunting extinguished so that these areas can act as population benchmarks. One covers a large area of the central coast including the new Khutze Conservancy in the spirit bear area; the other is in Knight Inlet on the south coast. Unfortunately, these have not yet been enacted. They have been stalled within government, we suspect due to pressures from the hunting lobby. Public pressure is now needed to have them created.

Both the Kitasoo and Gitga'at communities appear adamantly opposed to any trophy hunting of bears and other species in their territories and appear to have been successful in ending hunting of black Kermodes on Gribbell Island (white Kermodes are protected by law).

We continue to work with the Raincoast Foundation on a review of a possible buy-out from European interests of part of the guide/outfitter trophy-hunting territory that includes Princess Royal, Gribbell, and other islands.

For more information, please check our website www.savespiritbear.org or www.vws.org.