A partnership model in modern conservation and sustainable tourism for the world to follow
In 2006, 21 million acres of the world's largest expanse of intact temperate rainforest were given protection by a coalition of native peoples, the BC Government and private enterprise resulting in the Great Bear Rainforest being protected for future generations.  Its creation is the highest example of social responsibility and environmental stewardship in action in Canada. King Pacific Lodge played a pivotal role in the creation of this protected area and continues to steward the rainforest in partnership with the local Gitga'at community at Hartley Bay. Their unprecedented relationship with First Nations in the Great Bear Rainforest continues to grow from the local community level to the support for the development of new lodges in the King Pacific Lodge model.

King Pacific Lodge's relationship with the Gitga'at Nation
The lodge was the first private tourism operator to sign a working protocol with a First Nation in British Columbia thereby recognizing their rights and title to their traditional territory.  Since then, the Gitga'at Nation and King Pacific Lodge have worked together on a wide variety of programs including a student mentoring program, an elders' breakfast program, joint educational initiatives and hospitality training.  King Pacific Lodge also holds its annual staff training in Hartley Bay, home of the Gitga'at Nation, where staff stays in private homes in the community.

About the Great Bear Rainforest
From the northern end of Vancouver Island, across Queen Charlotte Strait, and up the central coast of British Columbia to the Alaskan border, the Great Bear Rainforest stretches more than 250 miles.  Encompassing 21 million acres, the Great Bear Rainforest and the islands of the Haida Gwaii are part of the largest coastal temperate rain forest left on Earth. Today, nearly 60 percent of the world's coastal temperate rainforests have been logged or developed. The Great Bear Rainforest represents one-quarter of what remains.

Luxury Eco-Friendly Resort on a Barge
Built on a 30-metre (100 ft) long barge, the lodge is a floating hotel, with all the requirements of a marine vessel. The lodge is towed south to Prince Rupert in October for the winter. In 2007 the lodge was environmentally upgraded to comply with its commitment to ecological responsible sustainable tourism with low energy laundry appliances, energy-efficient lighting, and low flush toilets were installed to further reduce the ecolodge's carbon footprint. Floor refinishing and painting were also completed using environmentally friendly products. Each year, this eco-friendly resort emerges spruced up in May, ready to be towed 116 miles from its winter home to its summer location in Barnard Harbor, Princess Royal Island in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Making a Commitment to be Carbon Neutral
In March 2007, King Pacific Lodge announced a plan that broke new ground in ecologically responsible sustainable tourism: the lodge would halve its carbon footprint over the next five years. The plan incorporated a first in the hospitality industry: not only offsetting the carbon emissions of all ecolodge operations and employee travel but also guests' air travel to and from the lodge - creating a truly carbon-neutral vacation. Also, the lodge does not import any water, but rather uses an on-site filtration of glacial river water for its guests and employee use.  Following international guidelines for processing, reverse osmosis and ultra-violet purification help to keep clean water on tap as well as to satisfy thirst.  Among the other key elements of the plan are installing a river-hydro plant and solar panels for power needs and using suppliers who conduct their own program of carbon reduction. In 2008, the first of these installations were put in place, bringing King Pacific Lodge that much closer to being a completely eco-friendly resort.

Cultural Tourism: Gitga'at and Hartley Bay
The guest experience at the lodge is based on profound respect for the temperate rainforest environment and the traditions of the Gitga'at. Guests are offered many cultural and learning opportunities including visiting Hartley Bay (Txalgiiw to the Gitga'at), a remote village of 300, accessible only by boat or floatplane, where wooden boardwalks connect the houses. Guests experience cultural exhibits in the local museum and longhouse, and meet villagers as they stroll the boardwalk. Other cultural sites to visit include: Old Town (Laxgaltsap), the sacred site of the first Gitga'at settlement; Kiel, the spring seaweed and halibut camp; and the traditional longhouse in spectacular, eight-mile-long Cornwall Inlet, a venue of spiritual significance and home to many ancient burial boxes.