The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast

Description

144 pages
Contains Maps, Index
$39.95
ISBN 1-55017-166-6
DDC 917.11'1044'0222

Publisher

Year

1997

Contributor

Photos by Ian McAllister
Illustrations by Kim LaFave
Reviewed by Patrick Colgan

Patrick Colgan is the former executive director of the Canadian Museum
of Nature.

Review

Written by hardy and committed conservationists, this book provides a
personal and attractive overview of “Canada’s forgotten coast” (an
area that is, alas, very much in the eye of the logging companies).

The text includes excerpts from the authors’ field notes, with
natural history and perhaps too many place names woven in, and is
complemented by large, lush color photographs and drawings. The
coast’s geographical and biological complexity is well presented, with
discussions of physical features, dominant plant and animal species
(especially trees, salmon, grizzly bears, and white bears), and the
resident Natives.

Like Robert Kennedy, Jr., in the book’s foreword, the authors make an
eloquent and passionate case for protecting a region in which logging
continues apace. They stress that even “managed forests,” let alone
clearcut ones, are not the equivalent of old forests.

All those concerned about conservation, especially on the West Coast,
should read this valuable book.

Citation

McAllister, Ian, Karen McAllister, and Cameron Young., “The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed October 13, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/4647.