This is a land of mist-shrouded valleys and glacier-cut fjords, old-growth forests, wildlife like grizzly bears, spirit bears and rich salmon streams. It’s also home to First Nations people who have been linked to the rainforest since time immemorial.
We need your support to continue our momentum working with local Indigenous communities to develop a model for sustainable resource management that will have global implications. The time is now to invest in the Great Bear Rainforest.
Now Showing: See Great Bear Rainforest in IMAX
A new IMAX film, Great Bear Rainforest, explores this important landscape. Filmmakers Ian McAllister and Jeff Turner spent three years making the film, which focuses on the unique wildlife of Great Bear and the First Nation communities who have guarded the landscape for centuries.
Threats
Industrial developments, logging, and the combined effects of climate change continue to threaten the cultural and ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Our Impact
Nature United works in the Great Bear Rainforest to foster local natural resource management, support First Nations leadership, and engage the next generation to steward their lands and waters.
The historic Great Bear Rainforest Agreement places 9 million acres off limits to logging and millions more acres under strict forest management guidelines.
We’re helping build sustainable and resilient communities by supporting local leadership, and natural resource management agencies, schools, and conservation-based businesses.
We’re combining our scientific and conservation planning know-how with traditional First Nations knowledge, including approaches to decision making that incorporate Indigenous laws and customs.
The Spirit Bear
The living symbol of the Great Bear Rainforest is the rare and elusive spirit bear.
Spirit bears are actually black bears—a recessive gene makes approximately one in ten black bears as white as a polar bear.
Only about 400 spirit bears persist in remote regions of coastal British Columbia.
Though rarely seen, the spirit bear is promoted as a symbol of the Great Bear Rainforest—and a reminder of the importance of protecting this special place on the planet.
People
First Nations are the traditional stewards of the lands and waters within the Great Bear Rainforest. The well-being of the Great Bear Rainforest goes hand in hand with the well-being of the those who habit it.
We work with First Nations leaders to support local resource management that enhances the ecological and cultural well being in the region and ensures the sustainability of communities for generations to come.
We strive to develop meaningful partnerships with First Nations communities that create a dialogue of trust and respect for Indigenous rights and cultural traditions.
WILDLIFE IN THE GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST
Our Initiatives in Great Bear
-
Youth Development
The SEAS (Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards) initiative provides hands-on educational opportunities for Indigenous youth in leadership and natural resource management. Learn More
-
Community Exchanges
Nature United supports community exchanges and peer learning networks with Indigenous communities in the Great Bear Rainforest and around the world. Learn More
-
Indigenous Stewardship
Working with local First Nations, Nature United supports the use of strong science and traditional knowledge to protect culturally important sites and resources. Learn More
-
Wildlife Conservation
Nature United supports First Nations leaders developing rigorous scientific data on grizzly bear abundance on the central coast of British Columbia. Learn More
More Stories
Success
Celebrating the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement
Our director of conservation, Jenny Brown, shares the life-changing wisdom she learned while working on the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement with Indigenous communities.
Success
Exchanging Ideas in History in Bella Coola
Lindsey Mae Willie of the Dzawada’enuxw First Nation writes about the lessons she brought home after a community exchange to share knowledge on traditional governance-rebuilding strategies with the Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola
Initiative
Emerging Stewards
Reaching more than 450 students per year, this community-led initiative supported by Nature United connects youth of all ages to the natural world just outside their front door.