The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast

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

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.