"British Columbia on Monday unveiled a historic agreement to protect a massive swath of rainforest along its coastline, having reached a deal that marries the interests of First Nations, the logging industry and environmentalists after a decade of often-tense negotiations.

Under the agreement, about 85 percent of forest within the Great Bear Rainforest would be protected, with the other 15 percent available for logging under the "most stringent" standards in North America, environmental groups involved in the talks said.

The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the world's largest temperate rainforests and the habitat of the Spirit Bear, a rare subspecies of the black bear with white fur and claws. It is also home to 26 Aboriginal groups, known as First Nations."

Julie Gordon reports for Reuters February 1, 2016. [2]