The North Coast area covers 1.95 million hectares encompassing the North Coast Forest District which includes Provincial Parks, recreation areas, Tree Farm License 25 and the North Coast Timber Supply Area (TSA).   The North Coast area is about half the size of Vancouver Island.

Total population of the area is approximately 21,000 residents (1991), of which 16,620 (nearly 80%) live in Prince Rupert.  Other communities in the North Coast include Port Edward, Lax Kw'alaams (Port Simpson), Kitkatla, Hartley Bay, Metlakatla, Kincolith, Lakalzap (Greenville), Alice Arm, Kitsault and Oona River.

A number of parks exist within the North Coast area. The largest Provincial Park is the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Reserve (44,300 ha) which is located northeast of Prince Rupert.  Other smaller Provincial Parks include Diana Lake, Prudhomme Lake, Green Inlet and Kitson Island.   There are also three marine parks including Klewnuggit Inlet, Union Passage and Lowe Inlet Provincial Park as well as ecological reserves throughout the North Coast.   These parks and protected areas provide popular tourism destinations as well as valuable wildlife habitat and recreation resources.

Work Channel - photo by Bob Cuthbert, NCFD

The North Coast Forest District contains 3 different biogeoclimatic zones including Coastal Western Hemlock, Mountain Hemlock and Alpine Tundra.  The most common of these zones within the district is the Coastal Western Hemlock with 7 different subzone variations throughout this diverse area.

The North Coast also contains a number of wildlife species including Kermode bears, grizzly bears, marbled murrelets, Keen's long-eared myotis, and the horned puffin.

Recreational opportunities are abundant in the North Coast area. Visitors from all over North America and Europe come to the North Coast for halibut and salmon fishing, pleasure boating, sea-kayaking and wildlife viewing, hunting, camping, hiking and scuba-diving.

The North Coast has a number of transportation links with Prince Rupert being the administrative hub of the region and the terminus for both the Alaska Ferry (from Ketchikan) and BC Ferries, from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island and Skidegate in the Queen Charlotte Islands.  Prince Rupert also has an airport (located on Digby Island) and is the western terminus for the CN Railway.  VIA Rail provides service to and from Jasper, Alberta, three times a week, with an overnight stay in Prince George.  The Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16) connects Prince Rupert with Terrace, Smithers, Prince George and the rest of the province.

A Closer Look at the North Coast Forest District

The North Coast Forest District stretches from Klemtu in the south to near Stewart in the north and is approximately 400 kilometers long by 90 kilometres wide.  It is characterized by steep, rugged terrain and numerous narrow inlets.

This map gives a snapshot of the available forest for harvesting in the North Coast Forest District.  Only 6% of the North Coast Forest District is considered operable or available for logging over a 100 year rotation.

Maps like this, created from digital topographic data and inventory information, are being used in ongoing Land and Resource Management Plans throughout the province.  Comprehensive and current inventories of resource use are essential for this process. (Double click on the map to view a larger version of this map).

How is the Land Being Used?
The North Coast TSA

The North Coast Timber Supply Area (TSA) covers 1,947,531 ha, however, 94% of this is not available for public forest management.   This is due to factors such as the presence of rock, ice and alpine, or because it is an environmentally sensitive area, private land or an inoperable area.

The remaining 6% of the TSA (114,000 ha) is all that is available for long-term integrated forest management.  Already, under the Forest Practices Code, part of this 6 percent will be protected as sensitive areas, Riparian Management Areas and Wildlife Tree Patches.  The protection of biodiversity, wildlife and their associated habitats remains an important consideration in all forest development plans.
In the southern portion of the North Coast Forest District, on Princess Royal Island, there is a resident Black Bear population with a unique appearance.  A genetic mutation, occurring within this population, produces a white color variation in the fur. Hence, this coastal Black Bear will have individuals with white colored coats.  These bears are not albino but merely Black bears with white fur. Since the bears were seldom seen by the public over the years, they have often been called “ghost bears” or “spirit bears”.

The scientific name is Ursus Americanus Kermodei, or Kermode Bear, after past director of the Royal British Columbia Museum, Frank Kermode.

Kermode Bear - Photo by Kevin Hill, NCFD

Next Steps: Sustaining the North Coast Rainforest

Landscape Unit Planning

Landscape Unit Planning has now begun in the North Coast. This process is a joint effort between the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks.  The intent of this regional strategy is to provide a focus for integrating resource management activities and conservation measures.   Landscape units are areas of land and water for planning resource management activities over the long term.

Land and Resource Management Planning

The Central Coast Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) started in the summer of 1997.  A portion of the North Coast Forest District, Princess Royal Island and Block 5 of Tree Farm License 25, is included in the Central Coast LRMP.

The comprehensive Land and Resource Management planning process will involve First Nations, environmental groups, industry, communities, government, recreationists and others who strive to make recommendations on land use which meet the needs of all interests.  Land and Resource Management Plans are completed or underway in 12 other areas of British Columbia.

The North Coast Forest District is scheduled to begin its own LRMP over the next few years, following the completion of other plans elsewhere in the Prince Rupert Forest Region.

Protected Areas Strategy

The North Coast Forest District has 52,873 ha in existing protected areas.  One of these areas is the Khutzeymateen Provincial Park and grizzly bear reserve.  Through the Protected Areas Strategy (PAS), other areas with high cultural, wildlife habitat, recreational and/or visual values are being considered for permanent protection from development or harvesting.

Forest Practices Code

Under the new "Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act", all forest companies are now expected to be in full compliance with the code by 1997, and enforcement teams are now in place to ensure this is happening.  The British Columbia Forest Practices Code is one of the most environmentally sensitive and comprehensive pieces of forest practices legislation in the world.

Cooperation with First Nations

All First Nations in the North Coast TSA have filed land claims and are concerned with current and future land use activities and the impacts that these activities may have on the forest environment.

In the North Coast area, locations with significant wildlife, environmental, recreational, cultural/archaeological and visual quality are identified and forest management then adjusted to maintain the identified values.  As well, Traditional Use Studies are underway and the Ministry of Forests is continually carrying out consultation on various levels of planning with First Nations.   The Ministry of Forests is encouraging forest companies to enter into joint venture agreements with First Nations of the North Coast.