Clayoquot (pronounced CLACK wit) Sound, located about half way up the west coast of British Columbia's Vancouver Island, is a spectacular complex of interconnecting ocean inlets, rocky islands, and narrow fjords cut into densely forested mountains. Home to black bears, cougars, wolves, bald eagles, marbled murrelets, five species of salmon, and lush with ferns, mosses and other water-loving plants, the area contains the largest remaining tract of temperate rainforest on Vancouver Island. It also contains the southernmost pristine, coastal rainforest valleys in North America. The forest is dominated by Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, and Douglas Fir, many of which can grow to 300 ft (100 m) high and 15 ft (5 m) in diameter, and live over 1,500 years.

Temperate rainforests only occur in areas with a mild, humid climate where a cold ocean is close to mountains. They need at least 80 in (190 cm) of rain spread fairly...