It focuses on protecting Clayoquot Sound's globally rare ecosystem of temperate rainforest and ocean (designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), and on building a local, conservation-based economy.
[2] The small group of activists then set their sights on protecting Clayoquot Sound's ancient temperate rainforest as a globally rare ecosystem (as recognized by the UNESCO).
In 1993, in response to British Columbia's decision to allow logging in most of Clayoquot Sound's ancient forests, FOCS organized the largest peaceful civil disobedience protest in Canadian history, in collaboration with other environmental groups such as Greenpeace.
Two years later, FOCS helped negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between environmental groups and a logging company to protect some of Clayoquot Sound's intact valleys.
By disseminating information about environmental issues facing Clayoquot, FOCS creates awareness and engages people to take action to protect the area.
In a broader perspective, Friends of Clayoquot Sound advocates for a bottom-to-top change of social and economic patterns, and promotes sustainable living, locally and globally.
[7] When other efforts fail to protect the environment from irreparable damage, Friends of Clayoquot Sound believes in peaceful direct action to mobilize people around a critical issue and create urgency for governments to act.
[11] In a report released in April 1998, FOCS documented an outbreak of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) in New Brunswick resulting in closure of twenty-five per cent of the industry and a net loss of $30 Million.
The report concluded that while "some salmon farming problems seem unsolvable, others can be addressed through the industry taking responsibility for its risks and impacts through the introduction of new technology.
[12] In October, 2012, FOCS stated in a press release that the fish farms in Clayoquot Sound are within the UNESCO biosphere reserve and along the shores of a tribal park on Meares Island.