Orvis,+Helen

=The Spirit Bear=


 * About the Spirit Bear**

It is known for its distinctive off-white or tan colouring with “dark footpads, nose and eyes as do other bears”(Valhalla Wilderness Society). This gives it its unique identity and makes it iconic to British Colombia.

The Spirit Bear in known by four names: it is known as Moksgm’ol to the First Nations People of British Columbia, its scientific name is Ursus Americanus Kermodei, which becomes shortened into Kemode bear and Spirit Bear, which is the most common name for the bear in the media (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, The Genetics).

The Spirit Bear is a unique sub-species of the Black Bear and can be found only in a small part of British Colombia (King, 43) One in every ten Black bears in the region is born with the distinctive cream colouring (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, Overview).

The Spirit Bear’s habitat is the temperate rain-forest of British Colombia (King, 43). The epicenter of the Spirit Bear’s habitat is centered around Princess Royal Island, with the full habitat extending from Stewart to Hazelton to Bella Bella (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, The Ecology).

It is believed that there are only 400 of these bears left alive today (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, Overview).


 * The Issue**

There are many logging companies that would love the opportunity to make a profit off of the lumber that could be harvested from the habitat of the Spirit Bear (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). This, however, would almost certainly lead to the extinction of the bear (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). Yet, to simply impose a ban on developing the bears habitat, would be to overlook the plight of the First Nations People (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, The Plight). If a logging company was to start developing the area, many jobs would be created (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). This would help build the economy of the surrounding area and benefit the whole community. At least in the short term, for logging only provides employment for one generation and in this scenario the Spirit Bear would surely go extinct (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). Simon Jackson believes that no one person or group should be responsible for the economic burden of saving the Spirit Bear(Jackson, The Spirit Bear). The fact that logging companies own the rights to develop the land, which further complicates the matter. The parties involved not only have to find a way of building a sustainable future but provide some form of compensation to the logging companies (Jackson, Spirit Bear Lecture). Anyone who has a stake in the problem is unwilling to carry a heavy financial burden; yet, all the parties involved wish for a prosperous and sustainable future. The issue is finding a fair and empowering way to solve the problem and to give the Spirit bear the possibility of a future.


 * Should the Spirit Bear be Saved?**

Some critics argue that the Spirit Bear is just one subspecies of bear, and while it would be nice if it was alive, there is no intrinsic need for the Spirit Bear (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). After all, what is the extinction of one animal subspecies in the face of so many human problems from third world hunger to genocide (Jackson, The Spirit Bear)? On the other hand, the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition and the Valhalla Wilderness Society argues that the bear needs to be saved and he needs to have a voice. The Valhalla Wilderness Society states that the protection of the Spirit Bear would not only protect them, but ensure the ongoing survival of all the wildlife species in the surrounding area (Frequently Asked Questions). In addition to this, the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition claims that the bear is a unique treasure that the world deserves to enjoy and have access to, not just today, but forever into the future (The Plight). They also believe that the Spirit bear is specifically beneficial to the ecosystem (Overview). They believe that their special white coat helps them to catch more salmon and causes them to out compete other bears (Overview). These salmon then help nourish the forest floor and provide nutrients to the growth in the rain-forest (Overview). Its about looking at the broadest impacts of each species on its neighbors (Overview).


 * Developments**

As of April 4th, 2006 two thirds of the Spirit Bear’s last habitat is preserved (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, The Agreements). This is seen as a triumph to many and is hailed as a great accomplishment in the field of ecological conservation. This achievement is seen as good enough for many large global organizations like the World Wildlife Found (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). They see that the Spirit Bear has a large habitat set aside for it, when many species are fighting tooth and nail with the ongoing depletion of their home (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). Yet, Simon Jackson believes that this is not enough. The theory goes that the Spirit Bear’s distinctive colouring is caused by a double recessive gene (Valhalla Wilderness Society). Jackson claims that common Black bears from the surrounding area will crowd into the Spirit Bear’s territory, is a large enough buffer zone is not set up around their home lands (The Spirit Bear). The cross mating of Black bears with the special Spirit Bear gene and those without it would dilute the recessive gene out of existence and therefore the entire habitat must be saved (Jackson, The Spirit Bear).


 * Future possibilities**

The Government of British Colombia currently has deferred logging in the Spirit Bear’s habitat and have expressed a willingness to make the whole area a sanctuary if a economically viable alternative to logging is presented (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition is currently involved in two projects that could possibly find a solution to this economic gap.

The first is the Spirit Bear as a mascot for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, as a way of promoting eco-tourism (Jackson, The Spirit Bear). One of the mascots does have roots with the spirit bear; yet, the resemblance is a stretch, so it is yet to be discovered how successful this campaign will be (The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Meet Miga!).

The second initiative is to create a large scale Hollywood animated movie about the Spirit Bear. The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition believes that this will be a successful venture because the Spirit Bear already has a huge dedicated fan base (Hollywood Movie). The fans would go to see the movie, the fans would drag along their friends and even those unaware of the spirit bear’s plight would attend (Hollywood Movie). The movie would then educate itss audience about the Spirit Bear and hopefully motivate the audience to go out, write letters and fight for the spirit bear (Hollywood Movie). The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition also claims that a portion of the profits would be directly fed back into helping create a sustainable economy for First Nations people in the region (Hollywood Movie). The goal is to diversify their economy and to build infrastructure that will help make opportunities like eco-tourism possible (Hollywood Movie).

Yet, perhaps this idea is only a dream. There are many variables in this movie scheme that are unaccounted for. What if the movie does poorly in the box office? What if people miss the message or are too apathetic to get involved? The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition has claims that a portion of the profits go directly back into helping build a community, but they do not explicitly comment on how large this portion will be. Most of the profits, half of the profits, or one percent of the profits? The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition has not outlined how these projects designed to stimulate are or why they think they’ll be effective and until the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition finalizes these ideas, it is a coin toss of weather this radical idea will be a flop or a success.


 * Works Cited**

Canada. Province of British Colombia. Spirit Bear Facts. 6 Feb. 2008. 2 Feb. 2009 .

Canada. Province of British Colombia. Spirit Bear Rainforest. 12 June 2008. 2 Feb. 2009 .

Jackson, Simon. "The Spirit Bear." Rez Earth. Brock University, St. Catherine's. 01 Feb. 2009.

Jackson, Simon. "When the boy met the bear: at age 13, Simon Jackson gave a voice to the endangered spirit bear in BC, and now they are off to Hollywood." Alternatives Journal 31.3 (August 2005): 30(2). General OneFile. Gale. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. 5 Feb. 2009 .

King, Cassie. "The Spirit Bear Lives On." Summer 2006. ProQuest. Univeristy of Toronto. 4 Feb. 2009 .

Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. "Ecology." SBYC :: Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. 05 Feb. 2009 .

Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. "Genetics." SBYC :: Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. 05 Feb. 2009 .

Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. "Hollywood Movie." SBYC :: Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. 05 Feb. 2009 .

Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. "Overview." SBYC :: Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. 04 Feb. 2009 .

Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. "The Agreements." SBYC :: Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. 05 Feb. 2009 .

Valhalla Wilderness Society. "About the Spirit Bear." Valhalla Wilderness Society. 05 Feb. 2009 .

Valhalla Wilderness Society. "Spirit Bear Frequently Asked Questions." Valhalla Wilderness Society. 12 May 2006. 05 Feb. 2009 .

Valhalla Wilderness Society. "Spirit Bear Science Information." Valhalla Wilderness Society. 05 Feb. 2009 .

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. "Meet Miga!" Vancouver 2010. 05 Feb. 2009 .