Logging ban to protect 'Spirit bear' habitat

The B.C. government is banning logging in a part of its coastal region known as the Great Bear Rainforest.

The announcement is part of a historic land use agreement announced Wednesday between the provincial government and 17 First Nations groups.

Environmentalists are hailing the decision, saying it will protect a rare sub-species of black bear known as the Kermode or "Spirit" bear.

Roughly 400 of the bears, which have white fur, live on remote islands about 500 kilometres north of Vancouver.

B.C. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said Wednesday that the agreement was a triumph of co-operation between environmentalists, loggers, businesses, and First Nations people.

It began last year when the environmental group Greenpeace led an international campaign to save the bears' habitat. They convinced two major U.S. companies, Home Depot, Inc. and Lowes Co. to boycott wood logged in the Great Bear Rainforest.

In response, four major logging companies agreed not to log in several sensitive areas of the rainforest. The new agreement bans all companies from logging.

"We have faith that British Columbians' shared interests were stronger than their differences," Dosanjh said. "British Columbians and their government made the right decision."

The agreement is one of several pro-environment announcements made by Dosanjh's NDP party prior to the provincial election call.