The Great Bear Rainforest, the region of British Columbia between the northern end of Vancouver Island and the Alaska Panhandle, doesn’t actually exist on the map. International environmental groups came up with the name in the mid-1990s as they campaigned for a boycott on old-growth lumber products from the region, and the name struck a chord with the public, which has become increasingly critical of logging in the region. Needless to say, the forest industry in British Columbia hasn’t been pleased with the success of the environmentalists’ branding efforts. British Columbia Forestry Minister Jim Doyle complained that the Great Bear Rainforest “sounds sexy,” but that the name is just a ploy to sell memberships.
