Climate change is the greatest threat to biodiversity and human livelihoods, and one the most effective solutions are the world’s protected area systems, among them national parks and wilderness reserves according to a recently released report by the IUCN.

Not only do conservation areas help address the causes of climate change – the release of greenhouse gases – they also mitigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and everything that depends on healthy natural ecosystems.

Read the report here.

For more than 15 years, we have been working our butts off to save the spirit bear. While we’ve accomplished a lot, today I am asking for your help to assist us in taking the final steps to reach our goal.

Together, our efforts have resulted in the enactment of the largest land protection measure in the history of North America – a framework that permanently protects two-thirds of the spirit bear’s last intact ecosystem. I thank you for contributing to the largest youth environment network in the world and the most supported conservation initiative in Canadian history. The size and scope of our network have attracted international awareness through at least one mainstream or online media story everyday for more than a decade.

But there is still much, much more to be done, if we are to safeguard the gene pool of this fragile and globally important subspecies.

1. We must create meaningful sanctuary for the spirit bear, including: a) protection for the remainder of the spirit bear’s last intact global ecosystem and b) abolishing the coastal bear trophy hunt.

2. We must shift the route of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline that will send oil tankers through spirit bear waters.

In the coming months, we are stepping up our efforts as the urgency to save this bear closes in. We need to make sure everyone is heard on this issue so, with your support, I personally commit to speaking to 500 schools and conducting 50 town halls. We want to engage hundreds of thousands of students globally by encouraging them to launch their own authentic and innovative social media campaigns to rally their peers on this issue. And we want to meet with every elected representative in British Columbia and Canada to ensure they know a balanced alternative is on the table that will save the bear without harming the economy.

But we can’t do it alone.

This holiday season, please consider making a donation of $50 to the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. Each and every dollar makes a difference. You can make a donation online or by sending a cheque to PO Box 91933 W. Vancouver, BC V7V 4S4.

You have always responded generously and passionately to our pleas for help. The timing has never been more important. And we can’t accomplish the goals we’ve set without the support of each of you.

I thank you for your consideration, for your ongoing support, and for your compassion for the spirit bear.

All my best to you and your family this holiday season,

Simon
—
D. Simon Jackson
Founder and Chairman, Spirit Bear Youth Coalition
www.spiritbearyouth.org

A new report released today shines a light on the dangers associated with Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway project which would send massive oil tankers through spirit bear waters for the first time. The report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Pembina Institute and Living Oceans Society, has also been endorsed by nine British Columbia organizations.

Read the Vancouver Sun article that breaks down why the US decision to make no decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta’s oil sands to America creates new pressure to build the proposed Enbridge pipeline to the BC coast – and oil tanker traffic through the spirit bear’s last intact habitat.

Discovery Channel news article showcases the importance of protecting the spirit bear to sustain its ecosystem.

Spirit Bear Youth Coalition partner Bison Belong have launched a great new campaign and are asking you to get involved.

The next decade could be extremely significant for restoring wild populations of plains bison to their original roaming grounds. But for this to happen, more land must be made available for herds to roam free, government policies must be updated and the public must change its attitude towards bison.

Parks Canada and the Banff National Park management plan include the reintroduction of the plains bison in Banff as an important objective to restore the full ecosystem.

Let’s give a gift for the 125 anniversary of Banff National Park. Let’s create a herd! www.bisonbelong.ca.

Send your letter to Premier Clark today voicing your support for saving the spirit bear.

Here is our open letter to Premier Clark:

Dear Premier Clark,

I’m writing to ask for your leadership to ensure the final needed steps are taken to create a sanctuary for BC’s spirit bear for BC’s families – and families around the world.

The white Kermode or spirit bear, as you know, is a genetically unique subspecies of the black bear that is unique only to BC’s central coast and numbers fewer than 400. This endangered bear plays a critical role in our world because of its colour, upholding through the nutrient cycle one of the largest land carbon sinks in the world.

Though remarkable progress has been made to ensure the future of the Kermode subspecies, two hurdles remain.

Less than 200 times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, the Green-Sheep Passage/Tolmie Operating Area is the final, unprotected third of the spirit bear’s habitat: it must be protected in order to sustain the delicate ecological balance that produces this rare bear.

Additionally, while it is illegal to hunt the white Kermode bear, within 98% of its range, including protected areas, it is legal to hunt the black Kermode bear that carries and produces the unique white gene – a direct threat to the survival of the subspecies. The creation of a trophy hunting sanctuary for all bears is needed in this one area in order to maintain the genetic diversity of the population.

I know it is possible for logging and hunting to occur and the bear to survive; but it is equally possible that logging, combined with trophy hunting in this one area, will set in motion unintended, irreversible consequences that will, over a generation, lead to the extinction of the white bear.

I believe that when speaking of the very last chance to save a bear worth its weight in gold and critical to a globally important ecosystem, we must err on the side of caution, especially when a more viable economic alternative is available.

Conservatively, The Spirit Bear animated movie proposed by the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition is projected to be able to inject tens of millions of dollars into the region to help erase the human resource and infrastructure deficit that is widely believed to be preventing any hope of economic revitalization. The funds would exceed any bank loan, government hand-out, and potential profit from developing the ecosystem and allowing the coastal bear trophy hunt to continue.

The potential investment could build and sustain a viable tourism industry, develop the emerging sea shell aquaculture industry, create long-term conservation-based jobs, and launch a value-added, community-run forestry operation in areas other than this bear’s critical habitat. And then, off course, there is the ability to use the protected forest to offset carbon emissions – a multi-million dollar industry.

The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition has a track record of being positive, cooperative, engaged, and pragmatic; not one of being alarmists or dogmatic ideologues in addressing this issue. The movie has the potential to generate more profit for the affected First Nation community than logging in an area that amounts to .003% of the entire coast’s operating area, but development is money now.

Please work with all stakeholders to establish BC’s first major wildlife sanctuary, as desired by the Coastal First Nations, in order to safeguard all bears on the BC north-central coast from trophy hunting and, in the doing, help protect the Kermode gene pool.

Moreover, I ask that you help facilitate a dialogue with the appropriate stakeholders to identify a financial target for the CGI movie to meet that would, if successful, allow for the protection of the Green-Sheep Passage/Tolmie Operating Area and, thus, the spirit bear.

I know you have committed to creating a new era of civic engagement and consultation – and promised to put BC families first on your agenda. Creating a sanctuary for the spirit bear is a family values issue and supported by more than 85% of British Columbians. By taking the necessary leadership to protect the final unprotected third of the spirit bear habitat and stopping the coastal bear trophy hunt you will uphold the commitments you have made and create a legacy for all families the world over.

My thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

D. Simon Jackson
Founder and Chairman, Spirit Bear Youth Coalition

The spring coastal bear trophy hunt has begun. With its start, the future of the spirit bear is in jeopardy.

While it is illegal to hunt the white Kermode bear, within 98% of its range – including protected areas – it is legal to hunt the black Kermode bear that carries and produces the unique white gene. A loss of either bear is devastating to the genetic diversity of this subspecies.

Our goal is to create a sanctuary for the spirit bear by conserving the final, unprotected third of its last intact habitat (the Green-Sheep Passage/Tolmie Operating Area) and stopping the coastal bear trophy hunt.

The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition is asking everyone who cares about the future of this remarkable creature to please take a moment to write British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and, if you live in BC, your MLA in order to voice your support for the creation of a sanctuary for the Kermode.

We believe that this issue is a family values issue and a priority for BC families and, indeed, families globally: Our decision makers need to know that you agree.

FIVE WAYS TO SAVE THE SPIRIT BEAR:

1) Email, write and/or phone BC Premier Christy Clark and your elected representative
2) Sign the petition to stop this hunt
3) Adopt-a-Spirit Bear and keep up-to-date on our campaign to create a sanctuary for the spirit bear
4) Consider a donation to the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition to aid our volunteer-run campaign
5) Forward this message to your friends and family and help us spread the word with an urgent call to action

FIVE WAYS TO STAY UP-TO-DATE:

1) Follow us on Twitter @SpiritBearYouth
2) Join our Facebook group
3) Visit www.spiritbearyouth.org and www.adoptaspiritbear.org
4) Become a member
5) Sign-up for our new education program

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

The Case to Save the Spirit Bear | The Case to Stop the Coastal Bear Trophy Hunt

Read the full article at VancouverSun.com.

Vancouver Sun article outlines the challenges and opportunities facing BC’s forests in the quest for sustainability.