As a British Columbian, wouldn’t you be embarrassed if B.C.’s totem animal were driven to extinction?
The white Kermode bear, known as the spirit bear, still roams in B.C. — for now. Without adequate habitat protection, the spirit bear will follow the California grizzly bear to extinction. Logging in the Great Bear Rainforest, the forests along B.C.’s northwest coast, threatens the survival of this iconic animal.
Two years ago, various levels of government including First Nations, committed to protecting Great Bear Rainforest ecosystems (and species within them) through conservancies and ecosystem-based management (EBM). EBM promises to balance economic development with conservation, but the on-the-ground management rules continue to be debated. Sufficient spirit bear habitat has not been guaranteed.
The native people in both California and B.C. have revered and respected bears for millennia. EBM practitioners and loggers could learn from indigenous values. We can celebrate, cherish, and take pride in protecting this unique species and the ecosystems upon which they depend or we can log the forests and watch biodiversity dwindle.
Currently, forest management is ecosystem-based in name only. In the next provincial election, you can ensure that these fancy words have meaning by supporting legislation to protect species and ecosystems and the widespread implementation of strong EBM throughout B.C. The future of the spirit bear rests in our hands.
Spirit bear facts
• The spirit bear is a sub-species of the North American black bear.
• One out of every 10 Kermode bears is white — the others are black.
• In winter, they hibernate in the base of hollowed out old trees — hence the need for old-growth forests.
– Kai Chan is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) at UBC. Sarah Klain is in an MSc program at IRES where her research focuses on assessing ecosystem services in the Great Bear Rainforest.
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Prevent an un-bear-able loss: Save B.C. spirit bear
Ian McAllister/Pacificwild.org
The spirit bear lives only in the forests of the Pacific coast of B.C.
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