, image = Clayoquot Sound - Near Tofino - Vancouver Island BC - Canada - 08.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = Vancouver clayoquot sound de.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Map of Vancouver Island with inset of Clayoquot Sound region , location =

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, group = , coordinates = , type =

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, etymology = , part_of = , inflow = , rivers = , outflow = , oceans =

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, catchment = , basin_countries = , agency = , designation = , date-built = , engineer = , date-flooded = , length = , width = , area = , depth = , max-depth = , volume = , residence_time = , salinity = , shore = , elevation = , temperature_high = , temperature_low = , frozen = , islands = , islands_category = , sections = , trenches = , benches = , cities = , pushpin_map = British Columbia , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = , website = , reference = Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet, Shelter Inlet, Herbert Inlet, Bedwell Inlet, Lemmens Inlet, and Tofino Inlet. Major islands include Flores Island, Vargas Island, and

Meares Island Meares Island is one of the many islands surrounding the Village of Tofino, British Columbia, Canada. Its name was given in 1862 by George Henry Richards, captain of , in honor of John Meares. The island is located in the Clayoquot Sound region and ...

. The name is also used for the larger region of land around the waterbody (essentially its watershed).

Origin of the name

The name Clayoquot is derived from the name of a subgroup of the Nuu-chah-nulth, who lived at Clayoqua. In the late 20th century, this group merged into the multi-group band government known as the , meaning "different" or "changing" in their language.

History

Plano del Archipielago de Clayocuat 1791

First Nations have inhabited the area for thousands of years. The oldest dated location within Nuu-cha-nulth territory is 4,200 years (at Yuquot,

Nootka Island Nootka Island (french: île Nootka) is an island adjacent to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is in area. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Nootka Sound and its side-inlets, and is located within Electoral Area A of the ...

). Because post-glacial sea-levels are known to have risen, overtaking earlier locations, most scholars will date the beginnings of human habitation beyond 9,000 years BP

before present Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becaus ...

. In the late 18th century, Clayoquot Sound and the Native American peoples were explored by ship by various Europeans and Americans who were involved mainly in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

. In 1791, the complex inner waters were explored and mapped by

José María Narváez José María Narváez (1768 – August 4, 1840) was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Gulf Islands and Lower Mainland of present-day British Columbia. In 1791, as commander of the schooner ''Santa S ...

and Juan Carrasco; their commander, Francisco de Eliza, met and befriended

Wickaninnish Wickaninnish (; meaning "Nobody sits or stands before him in the canoe") was a chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht people of Clayoquot Sound, on what is now Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, in the 1780s and 1790s, during the opening period of ...

, the chief of the peoples. These explorers recognized the region's wealth of natural resources. These resources attracted growing numbers of non-First Nations peoples, who limited First Nation access to land, and generated resentment among the locals. Government support of private company resource extraction allowed for the growth of such industry over time. Logging companies were active in harvesting timber in the Clayoquot Sound area as late as the 1980s and 1990s.

Logging protests

In the late 20th century, First Nations became more active in trying to defend their rights and resources. They developed Native lobbying organizations and insisted on negotiations regarding governmental policies about such resources. In the late 1980s, the situation escalated when the government approved

MacMillan Bloedel MacMillan Bloedel Limited, sometimes referred to as "MacBlo", was a Canadian forestry company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was formed through the merger of three smaller forestry companies in 1951 and 1959. Those were the Po ...

Corporation's permit to log Meares Island. The First Nations peoples expressed their opposition to the MacMillan Bloedel Corporation logging in the Clayoquot Sound by several peaceful protests and blockades of logging roads from 1980 to 1994. In the summer of 1993, over 800 protestors were arrested, and many were tried for interfering with approved industry. Protestors included members of the local First Nation and Ahousaht First Nation bands, as well as NDP MP

Svend Robinson Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2004, who represented suburban Vancouver-area constituencies of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He is noted as the first me ...

, and environmental groups such as

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

and

Friends of Clayoquot Sound Friends of Clayoquot Sound is a Canadian grassroots non-profit environmental organization, based in Tofino, British Columbia. It focuses on protecting Clayoquot Sound’s globally rare ecosystem of temperate rainforest and ocean (designated a UNESC ...

. International mass media covered the protests and blockades, helping to create national support for environmental movements in British Columbia and foster strong advocacy for anti-logging campaigns. Media reported the perceived injustice of numerous individuals being arrested for joining peaceful protests and blockades. In some cases, law enforcement responded aggressively, which eventually helped strengthen public support for non-violent protests.Walter, P. "Adult Learning in New Social Movements: Environmental Protest and the Struggle for the Clayoquot Sound Rainforest," ''

Adult Education Quarterly ''Adult Education Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of education. It was established in 1950 and is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education ...

'' 57.3 (2007): 248–63. After the 1990 protests, the provincial government made its first significant change in policy. It commissioned a scientific panel to examine issues related to Clayoquot Sound. In July 1995, the Forests Minister of British Columbia,

Andrew Petter Andrew J. Petter (born 1953) is the chair of Innovate BC, a provincial Crown agency responsible for supporting innovation and growth in the technology sector in British Columbia. Andrew Petter served as President and Vice-Chancellor of Simon ...

, and the Environment Minister,

Elizabeth Cull Elizabeth Cull (born 21 February 1952) is a Canadian politician in the province of British Columbia and small-business owner. She was an NDP MLA for the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head from 1989 to 1996. Political career Cull was first elected ...

, officially accepted the 127 panel recommendations, on behalf of the NDP government. Members of Greenpeace were reported to play a significant role in these protests and instigated a boycott of BC forest products to apply pressure on the industry. After the government accepted the scientific panel's recommendations, specifically deferring logging until an inventory of pristine areas was completed, Greenpeace lifted the boycott. After the inventory, the government reduced the Annual Allowable Cut, and clear-cuts in the area were limited to a maximum of four hectares. In addition, once biological and cultural inventories were completed, the government required Eco-Based Planning.

Salmon farming and related controversy

The sound's ecological features have made it a major site for the farming of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

, a fish traditional to this area. Floating feedlots have been installed, consisting of giant fenced pens. There are roughly twenty such farms in operation. A massive die-off of fish, possibly linked to an algal bloom caused by the intensive farming operation, occurred in 2019. The densely packed farms have the disadvantage of providing conditions that allow for the rapid spread of disease. A highly contagious virus variant found in Norwegian salmon farms has been found in Clayoquot Sound farmed salmon. Environmental advocacy organizations have stated such events are evidence of the environmental damage associated with this type of fish farming. The British Columbia provincial government has closed other salmon farming sites on Vancouver Island. For instance, it is phasing out salmon farms by 2022 in the Discovery Islands on Vancouver Island's east side.

Indigenous peoples and governments

The members of three major

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

band governments of the peoples inhabit the Clayoquot Sound: the

Hesquiaht The Hesquiaht are one of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples of the West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Today the Hesquiaht are governed mostly by the Hesquiaht First Nation band government In Canada, an Indian band or band (fre ...

in the North, the

Ahousaht Ahousaht, also spelled Ahousat ( or )), is the principal settlement on Flores Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Accessible only by water or air, Ahousaht is a small community predominantly composed of First Nations people from the Nuu-chah-nul ...

in the middle, and the in the south. The latter group is based in the village of

Opitsaht Opitsaht, spelled also as Opitsat and Opitsitah, is a Tla-o-qui-aht settlement/community in the Southwest area of the Meares Islands, Clayoquot South, British Columbia. This peninsula-like region is the home to the Tla-o-qui-aht people from the ...

. The village of

Tofino Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Peninsu ...

lies opposite Opitsaht on the southern promontory of the entrance to the sound. In 1985, for the first time in British Columbia history, the courts froze resource development on crown land because of a related Aboriginal title claim. Chiefs of the Ahousaht and first nations obtained an injunction halting logging on Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound pending treaty negotiations with the provincial government. These negotiations resulted in the provincial government and first nations signing the Interim Measures Act (IMA) on March 19, 1994. (This followed protests in 1993 that gained international coverage on this issue, increasing the pressure.) Since the IMA was signed, the First Nations and government have negotiated to co-manage local land and resources, including economic development strategies. With the reduction in logging in this area, in the early 21st century, the communities surrounding Clayoquot Sound (Tofino, Ucluelet, and Ahousaht) have been developing new sources of income. They are emphasizing ecotourism and selective logging, based on co-management strategies.

Ecology, parks and terrain

The land around Clayoquot Sound includes vast coastal temperate

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, rivers, lakes, marine areas and beaches. It includes part of the

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a national park located in British Columbia, Canada, which comprises three separate regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. Its the Pacific Coast Mountains, are characterized ...

and some of

Strathcona Provincial Park Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1911, the park was named for Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, a wealthy philanthropi ...

. The total size of the Clayoquot Sound region, including both land and water, is . More than have been included as the subject of a multi-year study using Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) to identify areas prone to geologic and geomorphic hazards, in particular, landslides, soil erosion, and sedimentation. The study is also to identify and characterize terrain conditions associated with these hazards. The region contains the largest area of intact (unlogged) temperate rainforest left on Vancouver Island. Clayoquot Sound is home to

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

, black bears,

cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

grey whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bree ...

orcas The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...

, porpoises,

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

, river otters,

bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, marbled murrelets,

Pacific loon The Pacific loon or Pacific diver (''Gavia pacifica''), is a medium-sized member of the loon, or diver, family. Taxonomy and etymology The Pacific loon, previously considered conspecific with the similar black-throated loon, was classified as ...

Roosevelt elk The Roosevelt elk (''Cervus canadensis roosevelti)'', also known commonly as the Olympic elk and Roosevelt's wapiti, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk (''Cervus canadensis'') in North America by body mass (although by antl ...

martens A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

, and

raccoons The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of . ...

. In 2000,

Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve situated in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. A diverse range of ecosystems exist within the biosphere reserve boundaries, including ...

was designated as a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The designation created world recognition of Clayoquot Sound's biological diversity, and a $12M monetary fund to "support research, education and training in the Biosphere region". At the end of July 2006, a new set of Watershed Plans was approved for Clayoquot Sound. This enabled logging in some of the forest, including pristine old-growth valleys. As of 2007, both logging tenures within Clayoquot Sound are controlled by aboriginal-owned logging companies Iisaak Forest Resources controls Timber Forest License (TFL) 57 in Clayoquot Sound, and MaMook Natural Resources Ltd, in conjunction with Coulson Forest Products, manages TFL54 in Clayoquot Sound.

References

External links

Integrated Land Management Bureau, Government of British Columbia website
* {{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Canada Old-growth forests Sounds of British Columbia Clayoquot Sound region Nuu-chah-nulth