The traditional territories of CFN member First Nations are located in what’s known today as the Great Bear Rainforest—one of the largest temperate rainforests left on Earth.

The 6.4-million-hectares region is home to 26 First Nations, and a true ecological and cultural treasure that features abundant wildlife and vast carbon-absorbing forests. These largely intact coastal ecosystems are home to diverse species, including grizzly bears, the highly unique white Spirit Bears, and up to 20 percent of the world’s wild salmon. 

For decades this region was at risk from unsustainable logging and other forms of development. In 2006, coastal First Nations teamed up with the BC government, environmental groups and forest companies stood together to announce the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements—the result of more than a decade of collaborative work and planning. 

Updated and formalized a decade later as the 2016 Great Bear Rainforest Land Use Order and Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act, this historic agreement developed a framework for co-management that put decision-making power back in the hands of First Nations. It set a high bar for resource management that will conserve 85 percent of the forest and 70 percent of old-growth forests over time.