National Geographic: Lair of the Spirit Bear

The long-awaited (by my children) National Geographic cover story on the Spirit Bear of British Columbia finally hits the stands this month--and it's a thing of beauty. I provided the words for the two main features on the bear and its lair, but Paul Nicklen's photos are the real glory of the issue. I've had the good fortune to work with Paul on two NG features now (check out his work, with my words, on Svalbard in NG a couple years ago), and it's always a thrill to open up that early proof and see what he's come up with. Paul and I got lucky with this piece--when we first went up to the Great Bear Rainforest two years ago, an abundant pink salmon spawning season lured the bears down to the rivermouths. Our bear guides, Marven Robinson and Doug Neasloss, knew where to lead us and proved to be wonderful companions on the trail. (You can reach Marven through King Pacific Lodge, and Doug at his website, dougneasloss.com.) National Geographic cover stories aren't often controversial, but this one is kicking up a bit of dust in Canada, where the Northern Gateway pipeline, a proposed pipeline that would bring oil tankers into the heart of the Spirit Bear's homeland, is the object of heated debate.

Comments

[Michael McCarthy]

I think this article is a disgrace. How dare you name xxxxxx Island as the home of the spirit bear? I am sure that Marven must have told you that bear watching is his main source of annual income and that you should not name the island in your article. Why did you do it? Marven told me specifically that all sorts of yahoos would camp on the island, trudge through the undergrowth, leave behind garbage and ruin the secret if any writer ever named the island. Have you no sense of ethics? There will be hundreds if not thousands of idiots planning to land on the island now. Take a good look in the mirror and think of the damage your article will create for the Gitga'at and the bear. Is what NG paid you worth the harm you have done? Give your head a shake the next time you plan to do such a stupid thing. As a professional travel writer myself, I can't believe that any fellow writer would consciously choose to do something like this. Did your editor force you to? Shame on you.