| Meares Island | |
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| Image Map Size: | 250px |
| Image Map Caption: | Map of Clayoquot Sound showing the location of Meares Island |
| Location: | Clayoquot Sound |
| Area M2: | or |
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| Country: | Canada |
| Country Admin Divisions Title: | Province |
| Country Admin Divisions: | British Columbia |
| Country Admin Divisions Title 1: | Regional District |
| Country Admin Divisions 1: | Alberni-Clayoquot |
| Country Largest City Type: | Community |
| Country Largest City: | Opitsaht |
| Country Area M2: | or |
| Country Area Ha: | --> |
Meares Island is one of the many islands surrounding the Village of Tofino, British Columbia, Canada. Its name was given in 1862 by George Henry Richards, captain of, in honor of John Meares.[1] The island is located in the Clayoquot Sound region and is the location of Opitsat, the main village of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, and was the location of Fort Defiance, a short-lived American fur-trading post founded by Captain Robert Gray.
Meares Island is reachable by boat or water taxi.
Meares Island became historically significant shortly after 1984, when the Nuu-chah-nulth and environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of Clayoquot Sound 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. According to Ecodefense, opponents of logging have spiked thousands of trees on Meares Island.[2]