Bute Inlet Bear Cam Survey

Great Bear Rainforest Web Cam Survey (scroll down to see images)

On Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 8AM it was indeed a cloudy day in Campbell River, BC.

It was so cloudy that my technician and I wondered if bush pilots flew in this type of weather - or if the day would turn out sunny as was the forecast.

We boarded our chartered float plane to fly us up the Bute Inlet, an inland fjord (a long narrow arm of the sea) located on Canada's west coast of British Columbia.

As we got on our way, the pilot turned to the both of us and asked; "Have either one of you been up here before?"

It turned out that it was the first day on the job and we were his first passengers. Our destination was Orford Valley, a unique river valley biosphere containing a diversity of wildlife, old growth forests and every fall up to 40 Grizzly bears. The Grizzly bears are there to feast on the annual salmon migration.

Starting in late summer, adult salmon return to the streams they started as eggs after a battle against almost all odds to survive. The lucky and the strong have fought for 4 years in the open ocean against numerous predators. Instinct brings them back to spawn, then die. The bears and other wildlife await their return as well.

Our trip was to start a survey of the Bute Inlet for the future install of a Broadband Internet network, capable of handling live video and VOIP traffic. In the Orford, we are surveying the surrounding area to install web cams in strategic locations throughout the valley.

The web cams will be positioned in areas of high Grizzly bear activity during the annual salmon migration in late summer, early fall. Live footage and stored video libraries will be available to members of the Bears of Bute area of our www.ThemeGreen.com social networking platform.

Members will be able to connect with one another, form groups, write articles and blogs while accessing video and still photos of Grizzlies and other wildlife in the unique and natural biosphere habitat of the Orford Valley.

By sharing and exchanging ideas among members the goal is to raise awareness of the delicate Eco system that sustains the Grizzly population not only in the Orford Valley, but the entire Bute Inlet. Salmon are the keystone to an entire Eco system including the Salmon Forests and all the wildlife that depend on the annual migration for their food source.

Prudent management of salmon stocks in the Orford Valley of the Bute Inlet is a key element to saving our entire Eco system. Grizzly bears and other wildlife in the area depend on this as a source of “survival”. Learning from this example may, very well become a model for other areas on the planet to follow.

Early Morning Take Off


	Our plane	We began our journey passing other planes being prepared for flights around the area.

Bute Inlet


	As we made our way up the Bute Inlet, the early morning clouds had a low ceiling.	Distant mountains became visible as we progressed up the inlet

Surveying for Telecom Towers


	I asked the pilot to climb up to approx 5,000 ft for an ariel survey of a mountain top directly across from the Orford Valley that we felt would be a good location for a telecommunications tower. I was sure we cleared the top by only 50 feet. At the time, I had my doubts if we were indeed going to clear the top as an updraft helped a great deal as we banked into the mountain.		The pilot then circled back into the Bute Inlet and we started our steep decent into the Orford Valley - directly across from the mountain we just surveyed.

Decent into Orford Valley


	I had wondered what the bars across the windshield were for when I got into the plane. Now I knew as the pilot braced himself for the steep decent from the mountain top to our harbor landing. The white arrow in the image indicates where we were landing!		The pilot then circled back into the Bute Inlet and we started our steep decent into the Orford Valley - directly across from the mountain we just surveyed.


	Unloading at the dock.		The plane left until returning at 5PM to take us back to civilization.


	It wasn't until back home that I realized there was a Grizzly enjoying an early morning meal of grass and clams along the shore.		We made our way to camp to plan our survey of the valley.


	We were taken to the most active Grizzly feeding areas on the river when the Salmon return each year.		We observed wildlife observing us.


	Another river observation area.		Site of new ranger station and new facility is an active Grizzly feeding location. We were told that during the salmon run, the Grizzly bears wait just in front of the camera man and watch for the salmon tails sticking out from the slats of the boards visible in the image with the water flowing over. The bears stick their paws in in an attempt to spear the fish for a quick meal.


	Greatest concentration of Grizzlies feeding on Salmon where 2 streams meet.		New tanks awaiting construction of new hatchery.


	ATV in the rain forest.		Our grizzly companion waiting as we left.


	Flying back to civilization.		We say goodbye to our one day adventure but know we will be returning soon to implement the network and bring streaming images of this remote wild kingdom to the global Internet community.

“Building it right. ”