The north half of the West Coast, between Vancouver Island and Alaska, has been one of the northern hemisphere's richest unprotected wildlife habitats and home to Canada's largest grizzly bears. Written to spark awareness of that area and engender protective legislation, The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast (Harbour 1997 $39.95) by Ian McAllister and Karen McAllister, featured a foreword by Robert Kennedy Jr.

The British Columbia government introduced measures to protect some of the Great Bear Rainforest in 2006, promising in February to allocate $30 million if the federal government matched that commitment. In February of 2007, the federal government pledged to spend $30 million to help preserve 1.2 million hectares of rainforest, the largest intact temperate rainforest left on earth. An additional $60 million was raised by private organizations and philanthropic groups--making The Great Bear Rainforests one of the most influential Canadian books ever. Time magazine heralded Ian and Karen McAllister as "Environmental Leaders for the 21st Century" and credited the book as being "...the centerpiece for Greenpeace International's North American forest campaign." The book reached its fourth printing by 2007.

Karen McAllister is a conservationist with a special interest in the flora of BC's mainland coast. Born and raised in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, she studied biology and environmental studies at the University of Victoria. She is a founding member of the Raincoast Conservation Society. 1-55017-166-6