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10 stunning photos from the Great Bear Rainforest

Ian McAllister is a conservationist and photographer who spends a lot of time in the region, and he's always sharing stunning photos of the place on Instagram to remind us of what's worth protecting

It's being announced today that the Great Bear Rainforest will now be 85% protected, long-term. As in 3.1 million hectares - an area larger than all of Vancouver Island - will be permanently unloggable. Learn all about this fantastic news here.

Ian McAllister is a conservationist and photographer who spends a lot of time in the region, and he's always sharing stunning photos of the place on Instagram to remind us of what's worth protecting. Below are 10 of our favourite shots of his. Follow him here.

Humpback whale, tail slapping in the Douglas channel. One of the great success stories of our coast in recent years has been the return of these magnificent whales to their former feeding grounds. The horrific legacy of industrial whaling left these waters silent for many years but now their symphonic, mysterious and complex calls are filling the fiords, bays and channels surrounding the Great Bear Rainforest. Describing this coast as protected when less than one percent of the marine environment is in established MPA's or marine protected areas ignores the very foundation that provides for the coastal web of life. #marineconservation #greatbearrainforest #marineprotectedarea #humpbackwhale @pacificwild @saveourseasfoundation

A photo posted by Ian McAllister (@iantmcallister) on

We used to describe Canada as the Brazil of the North because of the brutality of our logging practices, but today, we stand all on our own when it comes to the destruction of primeval forest. According to Forest Watch, Canada now leads the planet in the degradation of ancient forest, accounting for an incredible 21.4 per cent - or more than a fifth - of the worlds annual forest loss. For those of us that have been watching an increasing amount of ancient forest leave the Great Bear Rainforest on barges over the last few years this comes as no surprise. Just the idea of cutting ancient trees, many of them over a thousand years of age for toilet paper and other disposable products is right up there with the absurdity of the trophy hunt. #greatbearrainforest #ancientforest #temperaterainforest @globalforests @pacificwild

A photo posted by Ian McAllister (@iantmcallister) on

Submerged petroglyph along the proposed oil and gas tanker route in the #greatbearrainforest. When I was working on the #greatbearwild book one of the main threads of the project was to illustrate what would be impacted in the case of an oil tanker disaster if Canada went ahead with pipelines to the west coast. The #gitgaat people of Hartley Bay, one of the nations that have been fighting a heroic battle to keep tankers out of their coastal territory, arguably have more to lose than anyone in the event of a shipping disaster. I thought this image told the story of this struggle, of an ancient culture tied to the ocean and the immeasurable wealth it represents but also what this coast stands to lose if tankers are introduced to these fragile, ecologically and culturally rich waters. Imagine heavy tar sands oil covering these old works of art that have withstood countless tides. The stories they represent and the stories they have left to tell. #notankers #greatbearsea @pacificwild #gitgaatstrong #firstnations #enbridge #petronas

A photo posted by Ian McAllister (@iantmcallister) on

Spirit bear searching for salmon. #greatbearrainforest #spiritbear #spiritbearlodge #gitgaat @pacificwild

A photo posted by Ian McAllister (@iantmcallister) on