Photographer, writer and conservationist Ian McAllister praises the 鈥渂eauty of modern technology鈥� that enables him to be interviewed by The 小蓝视频 while he sits on a boat just offshore from the Great Bear Rainforest 鈥� a remote region located between Vancouver Island and Southeast Alaska.
However, McAllister doesn鈥檛 share the same love for other modern intrusions on what is considered one of the northern hemisphere鈥檚 richest unprotected wildlife habitats and home to Canada鈥檚 largest grizzly bears, as well as the rare Kermode spirit bears.
That鈥檚 especially true for mega-projects that include bringing any new industrial, oil shipping or pipelines into the area.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been having this huge energy debate in Canada,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have to decide if we are going to sacrifice the environment for development of things like the tar sands in Alberta, or do we want to invest in a more sustainable future? The Great Bear Rainforest could definitely be a casualty if we do favour the former.鈥�
McAllister will be on hand to talk about his 25-year journey to preserve the Great Bear Rainforest鈥檚 pristine beauty on October 23 at 6:30 p.m. when he gives a multimedia presentation听at Squamish Public Library听as part of the province-wide launch of his new book, Great Bear Wild.
鈥淭he presentation will be based on the book,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t will feature images of spirit bears, salmon, whales and the underwater world.鈥�
Mixing both incredible photography and personal narrative, the book is a 鈥渄eeply personal journey from the headwaters of the region鈥檚 unexplored river valleys down to the hidden depths of the offshore world.鈥�
鈥淭he book has a specific focus on the marine environment, and where the ocean and rainforest meet,鈥� he said.听
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鈥淚 was really trying to explore the relationship between land and sea, and how the ocean is fuelling the rainforest.鈥�
He said the consequences of increasing oil development and shipping more petroleum products to Asia would be 鈥渟ignificant鈥� on areas and ecosystems like the Great Bear Rainforest.
鈥淧eople all over the world are looking at Canada to be a leader and say no to the allure of oil and climate changing industries,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, when people see the magnitude of beauty here through the book and presentation, they will tell their government 鈥榥o, it isn鈥檛 worth it to ship oil to Asia.鈥欌��
McAllister is a founding member of the Raincoast Conservation Society and Pacific Wild, and his images have appeared in numerous publications including International Wildlife, B小蓝视频 Wildlife, Audubon, Sierra, and Beautiful British Columbia.
The launch of Great Bear Wild takes place Oct. 23 at the Squamish Public Library at 6:30 p.m. For more info, go to www.pacificwild.org/site/events/1409757487.html.
