Photos: Great Bear Rainforest in B.C. faces oil pipeline proposal

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      A group of activist photographers from around the world has released a selection of stunning images captured in the Great Bear Rainforest.

      The photographers—all members of the International League of Conservation Photographers and including a few National Geographic shooters—hope their work will raise awareness of the potential impact of Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

      If it's built, the pipeline will connect the Alberta tar sands with Kitimat, and bring oil tankers to B.C.’s central and north coast.

      Comments

      15 Comments

      skeena fisherman

      Sep 14, 2010 at 10:21pm

      Three friends and I hiked, canoed kayaked and fished this area in 1983. We saw wolves, bears, deer and salmon on our week long journey. We traveled from the west side from Clemen's Rapids to the Kanoona River. We came across letters and bill of lading from the early 1900's when the Surf Inlet Gold Mine was in production. This was at Paradise Lake. The Surf Inlet was dammed so that the barges carrying the gold could be floated to the dam and down into the inlet to offload their tailings.
      The letters and documents we found were turned over to the Kitimat Historical Society. There was a bottle dump with all kinds of 1890-1920 bottles with medicine, booze and soda pop labels on them. We couldn't pack them out so we buried them near the mouth of the Paradise River. Email me at clloydjones@telus.net for the location. I also have pictures of the electric tram line that the miners used to get the ore from the mine to the barges.
      I have some of the smaller bottles that I could pack out and they are on my bookshelf in my basement.
      It must have been hard work for those that lived in the camp at Paradise that we saw but what a wonderful place to spend your youth with the wildlife, the fish and the scenery! I'd do it all again in an instant. (If I was physically able to) It seemed to me it was all shut down just before the start of WWll
      If you want some photos, email me to the above address.

      Clayton Lloyd-Jones

      I coined our group the PRICKS

      P rincess
      R oyal
      I sland
      C anoe &
      K ayak
      S ociety
      We even have the T=shirts.

      Cheers to Gary, Bruce and Detlaf

      Burnabarian

      Sep 14, 2010 at 10:47pm

      They should not be allowed to put an oil pipeline through this area, ever. It will be a crime if they do.

      island girl

      Sep 15, 2010 at 8:05am

      Do some magic photo-shop work and show one or two places covered in oil ...big dripping gunky oil patches covering a beautiful beach ...could be very effective.

      Robins

      Sep 15, 2010 at 1:53pm

      Kudos to iLCPhotographers for capturing the pristine beauty of our land. Don't let greed destroy our future generations for the gain of a few privileged entities.

      Hows Blessed Are We?

      Sep 16, 2010 at 1:24am

      when I looked through those pictures my mind traveled to a beautiful place in the sky, a place some would could call heaven on earth.
      How could anyone think that a pipeline in the forest would be okay, and its not even BC's oil or rail whose is making off the sale of bituminous sands to China but even profit dosen't make it right when the risks out way the benefits witch are pretty much nill. I can't imagine the damage that could be done it is to horrific in the mind especially after all the magnificence and splendor in those photos but I do see a spill happening so the pipeline must be stopped as it is beyond a travesty on earth.

      Kristina Hockley

      Sep 16, 2010 at 10:14am

      This place is one of BC's finest. These photos do their part capturing the mysteries, raw wilderness, and natural density that makes it so unique. Better to spend a moment of our time protecting it now before the tar sand grows a potentially toxic arm out to the Pacific Ocean. Write the PM and Premier, tell Enbridge you are not ok with this project, support the communities that the pipeline plans to run over. SPEAK UP for goodness sakes before the destruction pushes forward to the point of no return!

      Loretta R

      Sep 16, 2010 at 2:39pm

      Fabulous photos! Thank you.
      Living in the city makes it easy to forget what nature really looks like. The beauty of the images also reminded me of the freshness of the air when it's still clean. I remember being able to identify hundreds of individual smells from my childhood surroundings; old wood, new growth, different kinds of soil, ferns, water, rocks... everything has a smell. Not so in the city.
      Checkout: notankers.ca

      bogenhogen

      Sep 19, 2010 at 10:18am

      Fantastic shots! This is my back yard! I live in Kitimat and definately do not want a pipeline coming through here.

      Bearsmatter

      Sep 20, 2010 at 5:14am

      Please everyone write your newspapers, municipalities, provincial and federal governments. Many people think this Enbridge proposal is a done deal because of our thirst for oil on this planet but we have to demand more brain-power and investment be spent on conservation and new technologies reducing our addiction to the black stuff....we can do it if there is a common will that is translated to public policy! Go to www.pacificwild.org and take action to stop this expansion of the tar sands into BC!