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Unlikely Alliance Protects Largest Coastal Temperate Rainforest on Earth

Innovative Agreement Protects Approximately 15 million acres of Great Bear Rainforest

Arlington, VA – February 7, 2006 – Today’s long-awaited announcement by the government of British Columbia creates a lasting model of conservation in the Great Bear Rainforest by formally protecting 5 million acres from logging and establishing a process to develop ecosystem-based management on an additional 10 million acres.

“This project represents an enduring example of conservation in the 21st century,” said Steve McCormick, CEO and President of The Nature Conservancy. “A diverse group, with diverse interests, realized that in order to achieve meaningful conservation of a globally important place, we had to be creative and find a way to balance the needs of the environment and the needs of people. We’ve done that here and Great Bear Rainforest will remain protected for future generations.

“The Great Bear Rainforest is part of the largest coastal temperate rainforest remaining on Earth and supports some of the oldest surviving cultures in the Western Hemisphere. Its preservation is one of the most compelling conservation visions of our time. Today’s agreement – and the unique partnership between industry, environmentalists, governments and local communities that made it possible – marks a watershed event for both conservation and industry,“ McCormick said.

A central component of the Great Bear Rainforest project is an innovative $120 million conservation financing package to fund conservation management projects and ecologically sustainable business ventures in First Nations territories.

The Nature Conservancy is leading a major private fundraising effort in support of the financing package, which is vital to the success of the long-term conservation of the Great Bear Rainforest. To date, the Conservancy, Tides Canada and several U.S. and Canadian foundations have raised almost $60 million in private philanthropic funds. The government of British Columbia has committed $30 million to the financing package, but has yet to allocate the funding. The Partners in the project are working with the Canadian federal government to secure and additional $30 million.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.  Visit us on the Web at nature.org.

Learn more about the Great Bear Rainforest:

• Great Bear Rainforest
  The Great Bear Rainforest stretches more than 250 miles and encompasses 21 million acres of coastal temperate rainforest. View an interactive photo essay of the Great Bear Rainforest and take a journey through this rich and storied landscape.
• The Nature Conservancy in Canada
  The Nature Conservancy works closely with an array of partners in Canada to preserve the natural heritage that's so vital, not only for plant and animal species, but for local and global human communities as well.
• Rainforests
  Wild and wondrous, rainforests extend from as far as Alaska and Canada to Latin America, Asia and Africa. See rainforest photos of animals and plants, watch rainforest videos, and take our rainforest quiz!
• How You Can Help: Donate online now
  Support our work in Canada to preserve places like the Great Bear Rainforest.