Photographs courtesy of Maple Leaf Adventures.

Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia – The Great Bear Rainforest is the world’s largest intact coastal temperate rain forest. and home to Canadaʼs largest grizzly bears and rare cream-coloured Kermode spirit bears. National Geographic named The Great Bear Rainforest as one of 2013’s ‘Best of the World’ must-see places.

One of the reasons people are paying a lot of attention to this area recently  is because of a controversial proposal to run crude oil pipelines from the tar sands in Alberta, across this region’s fragile salmon producing watersheds. The pipelines will also bring supertanker traffic into the region.

Maple Leaf Adventures

Because of the controversy local tour operators have been offering additional opportunities for people to experience this remote region. For example, Maple Leaf Adventures has offered six-to-10-day tours of the Great Bear Rainforest from aboard a classic sailing ship, between late April and the end of September