The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL, September thirteenth, beholding

B.C.'s Pale Bears.

The central coast of British Columbia surely ranks among earth's most spectacular landscapes. Towering peaks and granite-faced cliffs plunge into indigo fjords and hemlock-lined valleys laced with rushing streams. Humpback, gray and killer whales cruise ocean inlets, and pale white bears paw deep woods streams for salmon.

Neither polar bear nor albino, these anomalous animals are actually common black bears whose uncommon coats result from recessive genes they carry. There may be only 300 in all, most prowling Princess Royal Island, amid ten times as many of their standard cousins. The local Git-ga'at people knew them as "masala," the white bear, but for decades they've been called Kermode bears, after the Canadian naturalist who acquired the first specimen.

A century of mining and logging has put pressure on the bear's environment. Still, heavily forested, sparsely populated, rugged, roadless and remote, Maui-sized Princess Royal Island attracts little casual travel, even though great cruise liners ply its coast.

But both situations may change. Recently, B.C.'s provincial government set aside 440,000 acres on the island as Spirit Bear Protection Area. Another 12 million acres of coastline has been put under ecosystem management. Local legislation is trying to ensure that any tourist development is conducive to both the bears and native people and traditions. There are risks, of course, and other reasons to visit this island than hoping for a glimpse of a spirit bear. But it'll do, especially if ecotourism helps preserve the spirit of the place.

FMI For responsible spirit-bear viewing, either stay at the King Pacific Lodge ($833 a night inclusive) or book a tour in Hartley Bay with a Git-ga'at guide at 250-841-2602.

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