The Great Bear Rainforest needs your help!

The Great Bear Rainforest deserves the best protection in B.C. and for a while, it looked like everything was aligned to make that happen. Agreements had been signed and  protected areas legislated. Outside the protected areas, there was a work-plan in place to protect critical habitat for creatures as diverse as grizzly bears, northern goshawks and mountain goats.

A network of forests and critical habitat for five key species were supposed to be mapped as “reserves” by late 2009. Now it is July 2010 and the reserves have still not been mapped, let alone implemented. Without these measures key species could still be at risk, jeopardising the rainforest’s ecological integrity. Take action.

For Ocean's Sake - Pass the Climate Change Accountability Act

The dangers facing the ocean by drilling for the last oil are in our face right now, but just as traumatic is the inexorable rise in ocean acidity as we continue to emit CO2, and the effects that ocean warming has on nutrient mixing, currents and oxygen levels.

Imagine the Great Bear Rainforest without bears. It's time for Environment Minister Barry Penner to cancel the trophy hunt and dedicate resources to understanding why there are so few grizzlies on our coast this year.

First Nations, environmental organizations and ecotourism operators report that they are seeing far fewer bears and hardly any bears with cubs in large parts of the Great Bear Rainforest. Last fall, numbers of salmon declined dramatically in the same areas just when bears needed the fish most in order to fatten up for their winter hiberation and nursing newborn cubs. Yet the fall trophy hunt continues, even in protected areas of the Great Bear Rainforest.

More than 11,000 grizzlies have been killed across the province of British Columbia since 1975 - 87 per cent by trophy hunters.

Stop the madness. Send a letter to BC Environment Minister Barry Penner today demanding the bear hunt be stopped.

Protect BC’s Flathead Valley

Protect BC’s Flathead River Valley
BC’s Flathead Valley is sometimes compared with Africa’s Serengeti for its richness of species, and should be BC’s top priority for permanent protection. In February 2010, after a campaign by Sierra Club BC and other conservation groups, the B.C. government announced a ban on mining and oil and gas development in the Flathead. In July, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama met during the G20 summit in Toronto to discuss the historic February 2010 Memorandum of Understanding between Premier Gordon Campbell of British Columbia and Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana protecting the transboundary Flathead River Basin.

Please take just one minute now to write to Harper and urge him to work with Obama to strike a federal-to-federal agreement that will permanently protect the Flathead River Valley. Take Action Today!

In order to ensure its permanent protection, the Flathead River Valley needs a National Park in the south-eastern one-third of the valley, adjacent to the Waterton-Glacier Peace Park and World Heritage Site. We also need a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat, to protect a Rocky Mountain wildlife corridor stretching from Glacier to Banff, Jasper and Kootenay National Parks. Take Action.

Keep Oil Tankers away from B.C.'s Coast.

The pristine inland waters of BC’s North Coast have been protected since 1972 by a ban on oil tanker traffic. Today, the ban is under threat. Hundreds of oil tankers a year could soon be navigating the treacherous and often stormy waters of the inland BC coast.  Eight Canadian prime ministers and nine BC premiers have upheld the moratorium, but it is now in jeopardy. Take action today!

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Want to take action on other issues? Here are some ideas:

1. Write a letter to your elected representative
One of the easiest and most effective ways you can take action on environmental issues is by writing to your political representatives. Every letter an elected official receives is taken to represent many others!

How do you write an effective letter to your political representative? Take a look at our easy-to-follow guide.

Who should you write? Check out our contact lists for provincial [link to provincial contact list] and federal [list to federal contact list] elected representatives.

2. Write a Letter to the Editor
Writing a letter to the editor of your local paper is another effective way to make your voice heard. Remember to keep your letter short and to the point, and to include your contact information at the bottom of your letter so the Editor can contact you with questions.

Here are some ideas about where you can send your Letters to the Editor

3. Form a local group
Forming your own environmental organization is an excellent way to take action on a local environmental issue. By joining forces with other like-minded individuals, you can pool your ideas and really make a difference. If you have enough interest, you can even form a Sierra Club BC Local Group.

4. Become an activist (or become a better one)
Want to learn how you can become an activist? Or, if you already consider yourself one, want to sharpen your savvy? Take a minute to download and read How to Be An Activist by former Sierra Club of Canada Executive Director,Elizabeth May.