There is a new flag flying in the Great Bear Rainforest!  Look for it on the boats and trucks of the First Nations who are keeping an eye out for bear poaching, researching grizzly bear populations, monitoring the ecological impacts of sport fishing, and walking streams counting salmon. These are the Coastal Guardian Watchmen, the eyes and ears of the land and water.

Watch the video and meet the Guardian Watchmen from up and down the Great Bear Rainforest coast.

Guardian Watchmen are First Nations resource practitioners who work in forestry, parks and fisheries to monitor, protect and restore important cultural and ecological values. United under one flag, the Coastal Guardian Watchmen speak with a stronger voice for the protection of coastal ecosystems and maintenance of traditional food sources and cultural sites.

Through the Coastal Guardian Watchmen Network, we are actively supporting First Nations on the coast to be stewards of their lands and waters. The Network offers the training and collaboration needed by local Guardian Watchmen programs to monitor the impacts of resource use on ecosystems. 

In the community of Hartley Bay, territory of the Gitga’at First Nation now threatened by oil tankers, the Guardian Watchmen flag flies on one of the boats that rescued people when the Queen of the North sank. In Kitimaat, Guardian Watchmen with the Haisla Nation monitor tourism activity in the Kitlope Conservancy.  In Klemtu, Kitasoo/Xaixais bear-viewing guides monitor the populations of the spirit bear.  In Bella Bella, the Heiltsuk fisheries program flies the flag as they monitor endangered species and count salmon.   The Haida, the Wuikinuxv, the Nuxalk, the Metlakatla, and many more First Nations are also flying the Guardian Watchmen flag.  Look for them if you travel to the Great Bear Rainforest.

Photo credit: Doug Neasloss