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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Canadian
Spirit Bear Sanctuary Threatened by Logging
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
May 23,
1995
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
The
Great Bear Foundation reports on the rare "Spirit Bear" of
British
Columbia, Canada; and threats to its survival from
logging. This was posted in econet's nfn.tempforest
by the Native
Forest
Network.
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
/**
nfn.tempforest: 319.0 **/
**
Topic: Defend the Spirit Bear **
**
Written 5:47 PM May
9, 1995 by nfn in cdp:nfn.tempforest **
From:
Native Forest Network <nfn>
SPIRIT
BEAR SANCTUARY THREATENED BY LOGGING
by the
Great Bear Foundation
PO Box
1289, Bozeman, MT USA 59771-1289
(406)
586-5533 Fax (406) 586-6103
e-mail
greatbears@aol.com
Princess
Royal and Swindle Islands, off the coast of British
Columbia
(BC), are home to a very rare bear -
the Spirit Bear.
This
rare creature is a remarkable white North American black bear
which
thrives in the isolation of the islands' lush green
temperate
rainforest. The Spirit Bear - also
called the Kermode
black
bear - is believed to be the result of a unique gene
combination. These are not albino bears, but are fully
pigmented.
On
Princess Royal Island approximately one in ten black bears is a
Spirit
Bear. While there are few white bears
on the adjacent
mainland,
the island is where their habitat is most suitable and
their
population is densest. Probably no more
than 100 Spirit
Bears
exist today. They are the rarest
coloration of bears in the
world!
The
native Tsimshian Kitasoo people tell the legend of Raven's
guarantee
to Moksgm'ol - the Spirit Bear. Raven,
the creator,
pledged
that Moksgm'ol would always be protected to remind us of a
time
when the Earth's great glaciers covered the landscape. But
in
reality, these bears and their island are not protected at all.
Hunting
of bears is currently legal on Princess Royal Island.
Black
but not white bears can be killed. But
since black bears
can
have white cubs, it is essential to protect each and every
bear -
black and white - in this small, isolated population of
bears. This much is necessary to insure the
survival of the
unique
Spirit Bear.
The
greatest threat to Spirit Bear is logging.
The BC government
has
already divided the island into tracts and has begun issuing
cutting
permits to logging companies. On the
northern end of the
island,
destructive clearcut logging has already begun. Logging
the
area will destroy the pristine old growth forest. It will
silt
the salmon streams, now rich with the spawning salmon
which
are the mainstay for not only the bears, but the black
wolves,
eagles, orcas, harbor seals, mink and other spectacular
wildlife
of the area. Logging would inevitably
destroy the white
bear
and its amazing temperate rainforest home.
The
Great Bear Foundation (GBF) has moved into action in reponse
to this
course of destruction. GBF is working
closely with the
BC-based
Valhalla Wilderness Society and the Kitasoo People to
pressure
BC to preserve what is left of Princess Royal and Swindle
Islands
and the surrounding mainland as the heart of a 750,000
acre
Spirit Bear Wilderness Park.
ESTABLISHING
THE SPIRIT BEAR WILDERNESS PARK
The
Great Bear Foundation is party to a 750,000 acre (300,000
hectare)
Spirit Bear Wilderness Park Proposal to protect the rare
white
bear and its world-class temperate rainforest habitat.
Princess
Royal and Swindle Islands would be the final link of a
two-million
acre wildland that extends from the Coastal Range
divide
at Tweedsmuir Provincial Park to the coast mountain
Kitlope
Valley, and on to the Pacific Coast at the Khutze-
Green
Inlets of the mainland and Princess Royal and Swindle
Islands.
The
Spirit Bear Wilderness Park would be North America's first
sanctuary
for the North American black bear (Ursus americanus).
The
creation of this refuge would protect one of the continent's
most
fascinating animals and some of the world's finest remaining
temperate
rainforest. Thousands of plant and
animal species
depend
on this ecosystem for their survival.
The BC
Provincial government is studying a park proposal for the
Spirit
Bear. However, they are considering an
area that is less
than
1/10 of the area included in the Spirit Bear Wilderness Park
Proposal
supported by GBF, Canadian and American bear biologists,
naturalists,
conservationists, and the Tsimshian Kitsoo people.
The BC
proposal will surrender 90% of the proposed sanctuary to
immediate
industrial logging, mining, and hunting and leave the
white
bears defenseless against dramatic loss of habitat,
poaching,
and trophy hunting for their rare white coats.
The GBF
is heading a campaign in 1995 to develop pressure on the
BC
Government to set aside the 750,000 acre Spirit Bear Wilderness
Park. GBF is sponsoring a variety of grassroots
efforts to
heighten
public awareness of the Spirit Bear and the Wilderness
Park
Proposal.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO TO HELP PRESERVE THE SPIRIT BEAR AND THIS CRITICAL
ECOSYSTEM
The
most important and effective action you can take at this point
is to
write personal letters to Premier Harcourt and Hon. Moe
Sihota,
Minister of Environment, of the BC government.
Personal
letters
from the US and Europe are the most effective - much more
so than
a form letter. Tell them that you have become aware of the
plight
of the Spirit Bear and the Spirit Bear Wilderness Park
Proposal. Let them know that you are in favor of the
300,000
hectare
sanctuary (roughly one-third the size of Yellowstone
National
Park) to preserve the Kermode bear and its world-class
wild
ecosystem.
Involve
your friends in the Spirit Bear initiative. Help us to
help
the bears by informing your friends and family about the
threats
to the Spirit Bear and the Wilderness Park Proposal.
Encourage
them to write letters to the BC government.
PLEASE
WRITE:
Premier
Harcourt
Parliament
Buildings
Victoria,
BC V8V 1X4 Canada
Hon.
Moe Sihota
Minister
of Environment
Parliament
Buildings
Victoria,
BC V8V 1X4 Canada
Transfered
by:
Native
Forest Network
Yellowstone
Office
PO Box
6151
Bozeman,
MT USA 59771-6151
Ph/Fax
(406) 585-9211
e-mail
nfn@igc.apc.org
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You are
encouraged to utilize this information for personal
campaign
use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns and
forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate,
timely
pieces;
though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
information
rests with the reader. Check out our
Gaia Forest
Conservation
Archives at URL=
http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html
Networked
by:
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Enterprises
Email
(best way to contact)-> gbarry@forests.org
Phone->(608)
233-2194 || Fax->(608) 231-2312