Meares Island is one of the many island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s surrounding the Village of Tofino, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Its name was given in 1862 by George Henry Richards

George Henry Richards

Admiral Sir George Henry Richards was Hydrographer to the British Admiralty from 1864 to 1874.-Early life:Richards was born in Anthony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G S Richards, and joined the navy in 1832....

, captain of HMS Hecate

HMS Hecate (1839)

HMS Hecate was a 4-gun paddle sloop launched on 30 March 1839 from the Chatham Dockyard.She was assigned to the Mediterranean Station between 1840 and 1843, she participated during the Syrian War of 1840. After a period of be laid in reserve she served as part of the West Africa Squadron off Africa...

, in honor of John Meares

John Meares

John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.- Career :...

. The island is located in the Clayoquot Sound

Clayoquot Sound

Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...

 region and is the location of Opitsat, the main village of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations

The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations , are a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation in Canada. They live on ten reserves along the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. They are part of the Nootka Confederacy and governed by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. There were 618 people...

, and was the location of Fort Defiance

Fort Defiance (British Columbia)

Fort Defiance was a small outpost built by the crew of the Columbia Rediviva during the winter of 1791-1792. The crew under the command of American merchant and maritime fur trader Captain Robert Gray built the establishment on Meares Island in present day British Columbia, Canada.-History:In early...

, a short-lived American fur-trading post founded by Captain Robert Gray.

An attraction for tourists visiting Tofino is the Big Tree Trail, the small section of Meares Island that contains a boardwalk

Boardwalk

A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....

 that features some of the tallest tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s in British Columbia. It is a spectacular site for photography and has been viewed in many nature publications and television.

Meares Island is reachable by boat or water taxi

Water taxi

A water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...

.

Meares Island became historically significant shortly after 1984, when the Nuu-chah-nulth began protesting forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel's potential harvesting activities. The Nuu-chah-nulth, with significant cooperation from environmental groups, eventually erected a blockade, preventing MacMillan Bloedel from logging the island. Both sides pursued legal action, and the court ruled that since the Nuu-chah-nulth had claimed that this was part of their traditional territory, until that claim was resolved, no development could occur on the whole of Meares Island. This essentially granted an injunction in favour of the Nuu-chah-nulth, which was the first time in British Columbia's history that the province had been overruled on a land claims issue.

External links

• Meares Island, BCGNIS