Life in the Great Bear Rainforest

CANADA | Monday, 17 June 2013 | Views [854] | View Smaller Image

“Churning Waters” The waters of the Great Bear Rainforest are famous for storms and navigational challenges. Idyllic sunshine and blue skies change swiftly to hurricane force winds and torrential rains. Hunker down! Find a sheltering bay and anchor the night. Listen to the anchor chain grind across the sea floor and hope it’s not dragging. The next day the mountainsides transform into explosions of rushing water. Here’s one of those moments where fresh water meets salt after a storm.

“Fuel Whale Watching”
I work on a wooden schooner traveling the northwest BC rainforest coastline. Proposed oil and gas supertanker routes and pipelines threaten the coast. This photograph is the sign for the marine fuel dock in small town Port McNeil. The sign’s contrasting words illuminate our decisions as a people as we decide what we choose to “fuel”. The current struggle to protect marine life and the health of the BC coast is highlighted in the simple yet meaningful words on this sign.

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“Salmon Carcass”
The returning runs of spawning salmon are integral to life in BC’s northern coastal forests. Even the trees themselves feast on the salmon. Death and life are the same thing in this wilderness.

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Life in the Great Bear Rainforest

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