Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy
Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy is located on the North Coast in the traditional territory of the Kitasoo/Xai'xais Nation. The conservancy was created in 2006 and covers 102,875 hectares.
Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy is a protected area on BC’s North Coast.
Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy
The Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy is a large hyper-maritime area centered on Laredo Inlet, a long protected inlet on Princess Royal Island, the fourth largest island in BC. The area offers pristine, diverse environments ranging from sandy beaches, mountain peaks, lowland old-growth rainforests and fjords.
The conservancy encompasses Canoona Lake and many small estuaries, wetlands, floodplains, and avalanche chute habitats. Reefs, pocket beaches, tiny sheltered bays and rich inter-tidal marine life characterize the diverse shorelines of the islands contained within this conservancy.
Numerous recreational opportunities exist in the diverse environments of Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy. Visitors can spend time exploring the hiking trails on Swindle Island or beach combing the pocket beaches and shorelines.
The conservancy offers good wildlife viewing opportunities; fortunate visitors may get a glimpse of the famous Kermode bear, a white phase of the black bear, which inhabit Princess Royal Island. Other opportunities include kayaking, wilderness camping, and river and ocean fishing.
For visitors accessing the conservancy by boat, Kitasoo Bay and Surf Inlet are listed as safe harbours while Laredo Inlet is a protected anchorage offering spectacular scenery and an estuary at the Bay of Plenty. Grant anchorage is popular with kayakers and campers.
Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy is located within the Kitasoo First Nation traditional territory and is co-managed under an agreement between the Kitasoo Nation and the Province of British Columbia. This co-operative management agreement will allow the Kitasoo Nation to access land and resources for their use within the Conservancy while achieving conservation and recreation objectives for the area.
Overview provided by BC Parks