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What's New2011 All 2010 Spring 2009 Winter | Spring 2008 Fall | Spring 2007 Fall | Spring Previous 2006 | 2004 
Subject: Press Release - Olympic Mascot Under Threat FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - VANCOUVER, BC, February 23, 2010 -- In a few weeks, the B.C. government plans on reopening the trophy hunt of bears in the internationally celebrated Great Bear Rainforest. And the spirit bear, which was featured in the Olympic Games' opening ceremonies, could be one of its targets. The future of the white Kermode or spirit bear is being put at risk because black bears that carry the spirit bear's white fur gene are fair game for trophy hunters. The genetically distinct Haida black bear and the grizzly bear, which is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Canadian Federal government, can also be killed senselessly for sport. Coinciding with the release of a Vancouver Sun full page ad, supported by over 20 million people from 40 countries, conservationists have released a map showing that less than two percent of the white Kermode or spirit bear range actually protects the bears from trophy hunting in B.C. "How can British Columbia be celebrating the spirit bear in the opening Olympic ceremony and as an official mascot to the Olympics when trophy hunting is allowed in over 98 percent of the animal's genetic range?" asks Ian McAllister of B.C.-based Pacific Wild. "It just doesn't make sense to protect only the white coloured bears when the black bear also carries the gene that produces white cubs." said Kitasoo/Xai'xais bear viewing guide Doug Neasloss. "The spirit bear is a beautiful representative of evolution and we should not be tinkering with nature by allowing black Kermodes to be shot only to be hung on people's walls. This is an archaic and shallow blood sport," said Wayne McCrory, a Valhalla Wilderness Society biologist who has studied Kermode bears for 20 years. Liz Barratt-Brown, an attorney with the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council, is urging the B.C. government to end the trophy hunt. "The spirit bear is important enough to us that it is represented in our logo and our 1.2 million members and activists want to know that bears are protected in the Great Bear Rainforest." "The eyes of the world are on B.C. and the global campaign to end the trophy hunting of bears in Canada's Great Bear Rainforest will continue to escalate until they are protected," said Rebecca Aldworth of Humane Society International/Canada. Contact: Ian McAllister, Pacific Wild: 250-957-2480 or cell 250-882-7246 Liz-Barratt Brown, Natural Resources Defense Council: 202-289-2404 Wayne McCrory, Valhalla Wilderness Society: 250-358-7796 Rebecca Aldworth, Humane Society International/Canada: 514-575-6797 *Douglas Neasloss, Kitasoo/Xai'xais Spirit Bear Adventures:778-839-1241 *Doug Neasloss is in Vancouver at the Pan Pacific Aboriginal Pavilion during the Olympics and is available for television interviews. B-roll footage available. To download recent ads and map of the current black Kermode hunting area visit: www.pacificwild.org Facts: * In 2001, Premier Gordon Campbell overturned a moratorium on the trophy hunting of grizzly bears. Since then, over 2,000 grizzly bears have been killed for sport in B.C. *The globally rare white Kermode bear is protected from hunting, but the black Kermode, that produces white offspring is subject to open season trophy hunting in over 98 percent of its natural range. * A 2009 an Ipsos-Reid poll showed that nearly 80 percent of British Columbians are opposed to the trophy hunt of bears. * The trophy hunt also threatens tourism-based bear viewing operations, which generate considerably more revenue in B.C. than bear hunting. *Coastal First Nations are opposed to the trophy hunt of bears in their traditional territories. List of organizations supporting an end to the trophy hunt: Pacific Wild Humane Society International/Canada Humane Society of the United States Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust Coastal First Nations Greenpeace Sierra Club BC Western Canada Wilderness Committee David Suzuki Foundation The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition Valhalla Wilderness Society Bears Matter Forest Ethics Animal Rights Sweden Freedom for Animals - Croatia Brigitte Bardot Foundation - France Franz Weber Foundation - Switzerland Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA) - Belgium Fundacion para la Adopcion, Apadrinamiento y Defensa de los Animales (FAADA) - Spain Four Paws (International) Respect for Animals - UK Commercial Bear Viewing Association of British Columbia Robin Wood Canopy Friends of the Earth BCSPCA Vancouver Humane Society Natural Resources Defense Council -30 -
Sign the petition to STOP TROPHY HUNTING BEARS IN B.C.
Go to Stop Trophy Hunting Bears in B.C. on GoPetition.com, to sign the petition personally or anonymously, and help us make a difference today. 
DOUG NEASLOSSProfessional Bear Guide & Natural/Cultural History Interpreterfor the Kitasoo/Xai'xais People Doug Neasloss is of Kitasoo ancestry and has grown up on the waters and on the lands surrounding his home village of Klemtu on B.C.'s central coast.
A Message from our Owner and Captain, Eric Boyum... January 5th, 2010 The sense of satisfaction that Trish and I share at the end of a safe and successful season is always something that we both cherish. This emotion starts to build as the final trip of the season ends in Bella Bella and the Great Bear II begins the homeward journey back to Vancouver. At this point however, the challenges are not yet over. We must still travel over 300 miles before the ship is safely secured at her berth. The weather was fair for the homeward journey and on the final 2 days, it was outstanding! One very special moment for crewmember Dave and myself was after navigating the infamous Seymour Narrows and entering Georgia Straits. As we were enjoying the beauty of the setting sun against the jagged backdrop of the Vancouver Island Mountains, a full moon rose up out of the east and began to turn the waters into a sea of shining diamonds. A few hours later we dropped anchor in a secure bay on Texada Island under the full moonlight and that is how another incredible day on our beautiful coast came to an end!
The 2009 season was a great one and it enriched our lives with great experiences and new friendships. Old friendships were also renewed as we had many guests return to the Great Bear II for yet another adventure! The wildlife was magnificent and our guests from all over the world were able to experience nature at its finest! I would like to share one bear-viewing highlight that touched all who were on board deeply as we witnessed the bond between a mother bear and her cubs. We had raised anchor mid morning and were heading out of an inlet that we had spent the last two days exploring. The walls of the inlet were steep but we were coming up to a cut through the mountains where a creek tumbled its way towards the sea. It was the middle of June and the grasses on either side of the creek were a vibrant green and they grew well on the small meadow. I slowed the Great Bear II down in anticipation of seeing a bear as we had seen black bears feed here before in the late spring. I saw a bit of dark movement beside the foaming waters of the creek, made high by the runoff from the melting snows above. It was a black bear at the creeks edge. The creek was in a dip so we lost sight of the bear as we drifted ahead. I made a loop with the Great Bear II and came back to the spot where we had a vantage point looking up the creek. This time we were stationary in the perfect spot. Our hearts raced as someone whispered, "It's a mom and cubs- two of them". Sure enough there were two spring cubs, each no bigger than a soccer ball, standing beside their mom, beside the fast flowing creek. It looked like the mom wanted to cross. We all hoped she would not try it as it looked like the cubs were two small to make it safely. What we saw next touched us all deeply. The mom put her head down and one cub climbed up onto her neck and shoulders. The cub must have dug her claws in to hang on. Then the mom picked up the other cub by the scruff of the neck and while holding it in her jaws she crossed the foaming waters of the creek! Once she was safely up the bank she lowered her cubs back into the grass and they tagged along as she slowly headed out of view. We chattered back and forth with great smiles on our faces. She was a good mom we thought and we had been fortunate indeed to witness this very special moment! We are very excited about the upcoming season. For 2010 we are offering eleven trips, two more than in our previous two seasons! Nine of these trips have guests booked already, so we are anticipating a great year! I would recommend people to book early this year for the best choice of trips. Availability on some departures is already limited. For those of you that have not travelled with us we would like to invite you to join us for one of our outstanding adventures on the beautiful coast of British Columbia! Trish and I would like to thank all of the guests who travelled with us this season and supported us in so many ways. We would like to thank our friends and our families for the times we spent together. We also give special thanks to our crewmembers that worked so hard for us throughout the season and contributed so much to our guests experience on board the Great Bear II!
NEW PHOTOS ARE ONLINE!
See the magic of our latest season of adventures! View our NEW 2009 PHOTO JOURNAL here!
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Our 8 day adventure cruises to Explore B.C.'s FIORDLAND takes us into one of B.C.'s most spectacular landscapes! Although this area has been part of various trips we have offered for years, we are happy to offer at least 2 trips in 2010 that focus just on this amazing B.C. Park!
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| Photo: Patrick DiFruscia |
Explore B.C.'s Fiordland in June was popular as our voyage of discovery and draws us back again in June to experience all that these islands and their surrounding waters have to offer... Humpback whales bubble net feeding... migrating Fin and Minke whales... Orcas looking for seals... nesting seabirds here to raise their young... unique wildlife.. and the First Nations cultures of at least two coastal peoples. In an effort to help protect the unique wildlife of these areas, further details of this trip will only be available by contacting our office.
See our 2010 Schedule for the departure date for Explore B.C.'s Fiordland in June.
OUR NEW LOGO
Justin Clifton (Biography)
Justin Clifton was born on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and has lived most of his life in the small coastal village of Hartley Bay. He proudly holds the name "Niis A Waatk", a name that was passed down to him from his grandfather, who was given this name at birth. Justin's parents are of Haida and Tsimshian ancestry and both of these distinct west coast backgrounds reflect in Justin's elegant and intricate silver carvings. He has been honing his artistic talent for years, but has recently started to make his living through his artistic craftsmanship in 2008. He credits Jessel Bolton and John Sterritt with teaching him through their talented artistry in both wood and metal carving and aiding him in fulfilling his dream of becoming a respected carver. Justin has a strong sense of spiritual creativity and attributes many of his inspired carvings to his spirituality and visions.
We are honoured that Justin agreed to create this design of the bear tracks with the head of a salmon inside the tracks for our new logo.
To reach Justin you can email him at justin_time72@hotmail.com
Jaime Milward (Biography)
Jaime grew up in the Yukon and has recently made Vancouver her home.
After graduating from a Graphics Communications program at BCIT in 2008, Jaime fell in love with recreating other people's visions.
Jaime says she jumped at the opportunity to be involved in designing our new logo — and we're very happy she did. Jaime found that recreating our idea proved to be a very rewarding challenge. To reach Jamie you can email her at jaimemilward@gmail.com
Inspiration for the logo...
Our love of and respect for bears... Grizzly, Black, and Spirit Bears, our passionate dedication to their conservation, their important relationship with their environment, and their intertwining in the cultures of the First Nations people whose traditional lands we visit... were all inspiration for featuring bears so prominently in the name of our ship AND on our logo.Justin Clifton's image of the bear tracks with the head of a salmon inside the bear tracks symbolizes the important symbiotic relationship between the bears, the salmon, and the Great Bear Rainforest... and the First Nations people whose traditional lands they share.
You will be seeing Bear Tracks...
The next time you see our ship Great Bear II she will be wearing the new bear tracks designed by Justin. Justin has created silver pendants for us with the bear tracks design, which will be available for you to purchase. Jackets, vests and hats will be embroidered with the new logo. If you are traveling with us this year we'll be waiting for you dressed in our jackets or vests with our new logo.
We hope that you will join us as we celebrate the launch of our new logo, by celebrating bears and lending your voice to their conservation.
There is Hope... and there are Solutions...
- Hunting for trophies and just for sport is unacceptable and CAN BE STOPPED.
- Fish farming MUST BE MOVED from open nets to closed, contained, and on land... to protect the already dwindling stocks of wild Pacific salmon from sea lice infestations. The wild Pacific salmon are the lifeblood of our coast.
- Oil SUPER Tankers MUST NOT RETURN to our coast — one accident will make the Exxon Valdez seem insignificant, destroying ecosystems and the traditional lives of many First Nations people.
- TOURISM, CULTURE, and SCIENCE MUST BE ENCOURAGED as a means to provide jobs and encourage pride within coastal communities.
- COME to the GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST and see how important the bears are to their rain forest ecosystems. Along the way enjoy local food, accommodation, arts and culture — and — enjoy the passion, dedication, and knowledge of local guides. The more success tourism can generate in coastal communities, the less people will have to depend on industrial fish farms and industrial logging for jobs to feed their families.
Mahatma Gandhi said...
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
For more information...
- Visit www.pacificwild.org and see their new video on trophy and sport hunting in B.C. Add your name to the growing list of people from all over the world TO STOP THE HUNT. April 1st is the start of the spring hunt in B.C.!
- Visit www.dogwoodinitiative.org to understand more about how oil tankers could affect our coast and what you can do to stop them.
- Visit www.farmedanddangerous.org and find out how open net salmon farming is affecting your health and our oceans. With wild Pacific salmon stocks disappearing, the bears and other wildlife that depend on them are suffering too.
- Visit www.callingfromthecoast.com and see independent filmmaker Twyla Roscovich's documentaries on our wild salmon, the lifeblood of our coast... and the affects of salmon farming on our wild Pacific salmon populations.
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