B.C. stretches from Washington State north to the Alaska panhandle, with a deeply indented, island-dotted coastline that covers more than 25,000 km (15,500 miles). Much of the coast region is remote wilderness yet it also includes the most heavily populated areas of B.C.

Most of B.C.'s 4 million residents live in the southwest corner of the province, an area that includes Vancouver, Canada's third-largest city, and Victoria, the provincial capital. Other communities in the region include Prince Rupert, Squamish, Nanaimo, Powell River, and Campbell River.

The forest industry built B.C.'s coastal economy and remains the number-one industry today. B.C. is unique among the world's leading wood producers because 95 per cent of its land is owned by the Crown, which means forests are administered and regulated by government on behalf of British Columbians. one of the few exceptions is on southeastern Vancouver island, where about 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) are privately owned.

Canada's richest forest diversity is found along the B.C. coast. B.C.'s Coast Forest Region covers a total of 16.5 million hectares (40.8 million acres). Of this total, more than 10 million hectares (almost 25 million acres) of this healthy and abundant forestland in the coast region includes one-quarter of the world's coastal temperate rainforest. Less than one third of one per cent of the total coast forest is logged annually and this includes an increasing amount of second-growth forest which is being replaced with thriving, third-growth forests.

Native trees include important commercial species such as hemlock, true fir, western red cedar and Douglas-fir.

Western hemlock, found on the east and west sides of the Coast Mountain Ranges from sea level to mid elevations, has an even grain that is excellent for architectural millwork such as doors, windows, and for a wide variety of structural components used for home building.

Western red cedar, B.C.'s official tree, is durable, light and resists insect damage and decay. It is used for house siding, interior panelling, outdoor furniture, decks, fences, roofing and many other products. It grows in a variety of soils along the Pacific Coast from California to northern B.C. and thrives in the rich, moist soils of B.C.'s temperate coastal rainforests.