Photo by paulnicklen / Ma'ah—"grandmother" in the language of the Great Bear Rainforest's Gitga'at First Nations—in one of the first photographs I took of her on the day we first met, 10 years ago. Her cubs were waiting below as she climbed trees to feed on crab apples. She was so beautiful–everything about her was gentle and elegant. At the time there was a campaign to keep the Northern Gateway oil pipeline from invading her territory, and our feature in National Geographic magazine helped elevate her story, her habitat, and her future. Thanks to First Nations and nonprofit groups uniting with one collective voice and strategy, she won. It always feels good to score a victory for conservation, and I 'm grateful to all who played a role. She is a very old bear now, but her gentle demeanor has not changed, and I feel honored to have had the chance to memorialize her forever. Follow me paulnicklen, where I am always sharing new ways for you to get involved in my team's conservation miss...