Category: Bears

Spirit Bear

Spirit Bear

Bears

Photography & Conservation: An Interview with Daisy Gilardini

Bears

Position Statement Regarding Anmore Bear Cub

Contact Us

Email: info@pacificwild.org

Phone: 250-380-0547

Main Office
1529 Amelia Street, Victoria, BC
Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
V8W 2K1

Field Office
P.O. Box 26
Denny Island, BC
Haíɫzaqv Territory
V0T 1B0

quick links

Campaigns
Stories & News
Marine Protection Microsite
Shop
Media Kit
Donor Portal
Donor Portal (US)

Instagram

Decades of scientific research support the assertion that marine protected areas (MPAs) are a highly effective tool for the conservation of marine biodiversity, ecosystems and for sustainably managing marine resources. While it is important to acknowledge that MPAs can have both positive and negative implications for their surrounding communities, the research is overwhelmingly clear that - overall - well-designed and well-managed MPAs have more positive outcomes.

From an economic perspective, MPAs contribute to B.C.’s “blue economy” that encompasses industries such as fisheries, tourism, shipping, and more. Tourism and recreation are B.C.’s second largest ($5.8 billion/year) and second fastest growing sector in our blue economy, after transportation. This sector benefits greatly from well-preserved ecosystems and an abundance of wildlife. When sustainably operated, eco-tourism and recreation-based industries can help aid conservation initiatives by generating funds (e.g. for research) and raising public awareness.

Emerging research of the non-monetary benefits suggests that MPAs provide a therapeutic and restorative place for humans to visit which can contribute to improved well-being and have positive mental health benefits.

Public consultations are currently taking place around British Columbia to review the network action plan and end on October 27. (https://mpanetwork.ca/mpa_events/.) Read the full blog link in our bio.

#MPAs #MarineConservation #MarineProtection #30x30

In anticipation of Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) day on September 30th, we are amplifying #94in94: a collaborative campaign by the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, @CirclesforReconciliation, and @ReconciliationThunder. Every day from September 12 to December 15, #94in94 are posting one of the TRC’s 94 calls to action which are about child welfare, education, language and culture, health, justice, and reconciliation. #94in94 is a way to encourage Canadians to have a better understanding of the 94 CTAs. Follow them on social media to learn more, see what others are doing to make a difference, and challenge yourself to create your own ReconciliACTION plan. ⁠
⁠
“Indigenous peoples’ worldviews, oral history traditions, and practices have much to teach us about how to establish respectful relationships among peoples and with the land and all living things. Learning how to live together in a good way happens through sharing stories and practising reconciliation in our everyday lives. […] If human beings resolve problems between themselves but continue to destroy the natural world, then reconciliation remains incomplete.” Elder Reg Crowshoe, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.⁠
⁠
Click the link in our bio to learn about all 94 calls. ⁠
⁠
#truthandreconcilliation #everychildmatters #residentialschools #decolonize #orangeshirtday

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play an important role in helping us mitigate against the current climate and biodiversity crisis. MPAs act as an ecological “insurance policy” against ecosystem collapse and help address climate change by protecting features that sequester carbon and buffer coasts against rising tides and storm surges such as salt marshes, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests. Studies have found that seagrasses, like eelgrass, account for about 10% of the ocean’s capacity to store carbon despite covering only about 0.2% of the global sea floor. Amazingly, seagrasses can capture carbon from the atmosphere up to 35 times faster than terrestrial forests! Seagrass meadows also protect coastlines from erosion, help to reduce sediment in the water and provide important habitat space for many species. When implemented, the proposed Northern Shelf Bioregion MPA Network will protect large swaths of eelgrass meadows across the coast of B.C., which in turn will help to preserve the invaluable ecosystem and mitigate climate change.

Public consultations are currently taking place around British Columbia to review the network action plan and end on October 27.

➡️https://mpanetwork.ca/mpa_events/

Read the full blog link in our bio.

#MPAs #MarineConservation #MarineProtection #30x30

Tomorrow is #worldriversday, a celebration of our world's waterways and a day to get involved in river stewardship events around the world. Here on the British Columbia coast, rivers play a vital role in transferring nutrients from the ocean to the land. Salmon, who spend time in both streams and oceans, will travel upstream to their home river to spawn, feed, grow and die. Their annual migrations are a miracle of nature and every fall hundreds of species including bears, wolves, and eagles gather in estuaries and along rivers to feast on the returning fish and benefit from the marine-rich nutrients they provide. The end of the salmon life cycle brings renewal to the Great Bear Rainforest, delivering an annual pulse of ocean-derived nutrients. The trees and plants that grow along the rivers of forests depend on the deceased salmon distributed by animals and birds along the forest floor. When the salmon decomposes, vital nutrients enter the soil and help ongoing plant growth, creating new life. From ancient forests to salmon to bears, life on the coast relies heavily on healthy rivers and creeks to sustain flourishing ecosystems.⁠
⁠
World Rivers Day was kick-started by Canadian Mark Angelo with the success of BC Rivers Day which he founded in 1980. This year, more than 100 countries will be participating in #WorldRiverDay and events have been organized across Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, Europe and more. Everything from river cleaning, canoe floats, educational seminars and restoration projects will be taking place this Sunday, September 25. Click the link in our bio to find an event near you.⁠

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and MPA networks can provide incredible ecological benefits to the ecosystems they are situated in. MPAs can boost the abundance and diversity of marine life and even the size of fish themselves. This increases the overall productivity and resilience both inside the protected areas and beyond its borders. Well designed MPAs contribute to the protection of the structure, function and integrity of ecosystems by providing refuge for harvested species and protecting habitats critical to life cycle stages (like spawning). Additionally, they complement adjacent terrestrial protected areas for species who use freshwater and marine ecosystems (e.g. salmon.) and contribute to the restoration and recovery of at-risk species, habitats and ecosystems, like glass sponge reefs. MPAs can also provide a safe haven and “stress free” refuge for mobile or migratory species. A 2018 study determined that biomass in highly protected MPAs are, on average, 670% greater than in adjacent unprotected areas; the authors concluded that MPAs “are an essential tool for reversing the global degradation of ocean life” (Sala & Giakoumi, 2018).

Public consultations are currently taking place around British Columbia to review the network action plan and end on October 27. (https://mpanetwork.ca/mpa_events/.) To help protect B.C.’s incredible biodiversity and coastal ecosystems sign our petition and support the #30by30 MPA campaign. All links are in our bio.

#MPAs #MarineConservation #MarineProtection #30x30

This week is #NationalForestWeek. Two of the largest displays of civil disobedience in Canadian history have been in an effort to save B.C.’s ancient rainforests. Thirty years ago, 900 people were arrested in Clayoquot Sound and today more recently - one thousand people were arrested on the frontlines of Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) on Vancouver Island from 2020 onwards.

The 2016 #GreatBearRainforest(GBR) agreement pledged to protect 85 per cent of the region’s forests, with logging allowed in the remaining 15 per cent using ecosystem-based management. But since it was signed, more than 10 million cubic metres of ancient forest have been clearcut logged in the GBR.

The Great Bear Rainforest here on the British Columbia coast, is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. These incredible forests are home to a diverse range of unique wildlife and ecosystems. Forests like these hold a large amount of carbon, and when they are cut down release that carbon back into the atmosphere. Currently, only 2.7% productive old-growth forest remains in British Columbia.

Forests are our lifeblood and have great impacts on changing climates and extreme weather shifts. Indigneous lead conservation and management, and an end to unsustainable logging of old-growth forests is needed to protect our forest for future generations.

#oldgrowth #forestmanagement #saveoldgrowth #bcpoli #bcnature

© 2022 PACIFIC WILD • All Photography © Ian McAllister unless otherwise noted. Website by Affinity Bridge • Privacy Policy • Terms of Service