Forests play an extremely significant role on planet Earth. They act as the "lungs of the Earth". (WWF, n.d.) These “lungs” purify the air trapped in the atmosphere and participate positively in the daily lives of all living things. However, the environmentally harmful cigarette, deforestation, permanently removes forest cover from an area and transforms that previously forested land for other uses. Deforestation is the primary cause of the loss of these precious forests and is happening at an unimaginably rapid rate. According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), “The planet's lungs are increasingly being compared to those of a heavy smoker.” (WWF, n.d.) When it comes to deforestation specifically, there is a rare rainforest known as the “largest coastal temperate rainforest on the planet.” (The Nature Conservancy, 2014) This rainforest is 6.4 million hectares and extends along the coast of British Columbia. (Betel, 2014) It is the Great Bear Rainforest. It has a variety of grizzly bears, salmon and timber. However, deforestation in the Great Bear Rainforest Ecosystem has resulted in a negative environmental impact of biodiversity loss for bear, fish and plant species. “The Great Bear Rainforest is home to over 2,500 salmon.” (Temple, 2005) At present, Pacific salmon is the most obvious species inhabiting the forest. Salmon are keystone species. This means they play a vital role in the ecosystem as a “fundamental food source for many wildlife species and as an upstream vector in the distribution of marine nutrients through the forest”. (David Suzuki Foundation, 2005) When this forest is cut down, the entire ecology of nearby bodies of water changes dramatically in a m...... middle of paper ......ase-stress-in-grizzly -bears -linked-with-salmon-shortages/) Spirit Bear Competition (http://www.isfoundation.com/news/creatures/spirit-bear) http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/ canada /placesweprotect/great-bear-rainforest.xml (this is for the introduction) http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/01/great-bear-rainforest-milestone-reached.html (FOR L 'INTRO 6.4 MILLION HECTARES)VISUAL:1. Percentage diagram of clearcutting in the Great Bear Rainforest (paragraph In addition to the loss of biodiversity of plant species) (from the DSF source)2. Fish protection percentage chart (next to or near the fish paragraph) (From DSF source)3. From scratch: Circular diagram of statistics/percentages of the entire forest (go near the introduction)4. Salmon Map (Salmon for Parks Chris T. Darimont et al. Figure 2) http://www.raincoast.org/wp-content/uploads/SalmonforParks_Oct2010Darimont_etal.pdf