10 photos of new protected areas in the Great Bear Rainforest

Four areas of private land on the waterfront of BC’s Great Bear Rainforest will now be protected and conserved, says the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The new projects will conserve 185 hectares on the central coast, including the last remaining unprotected area on Spider Island in Heiltsuk Nation traditional territory.

“Spider Island is such a special property – remote out there on the edge of the world – and the Heiltsuk deserved to know it would not be developed,” said Tony Allard, who donated the land on Spider Island, as well as two parcels of land.

“‘Forever’ is a big idea and in the case of these three properties it is very satisfying to know that they will always remain as they are now.”

This grizzly was picked up via remote camera on conservation lands in Rivers Inlet. (Nature Conservancy of Canada)

The Nature Conservancy says the four new protected areas are home to massive old-growth cedars, bears, wolves, eagles and salmon.

The Gullchucks Estuary features old-growth coastal temperate rainforest, a wild salmon-bearing river, and a floodplain and estuary that are home to hundreds of coastal species.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada will work in collaboration with the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department in the long-term management of this new conservation area. (Nature Conservancy of Canada)

Conservation fieldwork being carried out on Gullchucks Estuary on Denny Island (Nature Conservancy of Canada)

The Gullchucks Estuary on Denny Island is a place of deep cultural and ecological importance. (Nature Conservancy of Canada)

Geldala and Kiidiis are also estuaries, supporting a wide-range of mammals, waterbirds, amphibians and anadromous fish, as well as all five Pacific salmon species.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has conserved prime estuary and old-growth forest habitat in Rivers Inlet, on BC’s central coast. (Johann Wall)

The new Geldala conservation area in Rivers Inlet on BC’s central coast protects an estuary and old-growth coastal temperate rainforest. (Johann Wall)

Spider Island, within the Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy is now fully protected, securing the old-growth temperate rainforest that surrounds a seven-hectare lake.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has conserved the only parcel of private land on Spider Island, on BC’s central coast. (Nature Conservancy of Canada)

The new 40-hectare conservation area on Spider Island includes a large lake and old-growth temperate rainforest. (Nature Conservancy of Canada)

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a not-for-profit private land conservation organization, aiming to protect natural areas and the plants and animals they sustain.