Re: 鈥淚n search of the Spirit Bear,鈥� Feb.聽17.
Since the Great Bear Rainforest has become such a major conservation issue, I thought I should clarify something that appeared in the Islander. The story says: 鈥淸Ian] McAllister, who came up with the name 鈥淕reat Bear Rainforest.鈥� In fact, this name has a more complex origin.
In the 91原创 Raincoast Wilderness Report, published by the Raincoast Conservation Society in 1994, Peter McAllister (Ian鈥檚 father) coined the term 鈥淕reat Bear Wilderness.鈥� This referred to large wild areas of the B.C. central coast. It is clearly labelled and shown on a map in this publication. Later, Ian McAllister changed 鈥淲ilderness鈥� to 鈥淩ainforest,鈥� and extended the term鈥檚 use to include the entire central and northern coast.
I thought it important to mention this, because the role of Peter McAllister in this issue has been unjustly neglected. He was the originator of the Great Bear campaign in 1990, when he led the first of a series of marine-based expeditions up the coast, to bring international recognition to this vast and largely unknown rainforest area.
As Ian McAllister himself has written: 鈥淗e [Peter McAllister] was the driving force behind the Raincoast Conservation Society.鈥� This is the society that was originally born as the flagship for the campaign. So it only seems fair, in mentioning the origins of the name of this region, that Peter McAllister receive some of the credit he deserves.
Stephen Ruttan
Saanich
