[4] Numerous films have covered Gwaii Haanas, including the 2011 short National Parks Project, directed by Scott Smith and scored by Sarah Harmer, Jim Guthrie and Bry Webb.

[5] From the 1970s through the early 1980s, plans to expand logging to Burnaby Island led to controversy, and the first concerted efforts to protect Gwaii Haanas.

In 1987, logging ended when the governments of Canada and British Columbia signed the South Moresby Memorandum of Understanding.

This Agreement expresses respect for both Canadian and Haida designations and interests, and includes a mutual commitment to the protection of Gwaii Haanas.

The Gwaii Haanas Agreement provided for native–federal negotiations on managing the marine portion of the site, which eventually bore fruit in 2010 when an enveloping protected area was created.

Meantime, the Gwaii Haanas NMCAR will balance protecting marine ecosystems, while also allowing ecolgocially sustainable use.

Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, which covers 3,400 square kilometres, is "a primary feeding habitat" of the humpback whale (North Pacific population) protected by Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA).

[citation needed] The AMB's crest, crafted by local Haida artist Giitsxaa, was created to represent the unique joint management relationship.

[citation needed] With the extirpation of sea otters during the Maritime Fur Trade, the natural balance between species in the community was disturbed.

[14] As a result, the sea urchin population has increased dramatically over time and the health of kelp forests is threatened.

[15] The landscapes of Gwaii Haanas vary from deep fjords to rugged mountains, salmon spawning streams to sub-alpine tundra.

[16] As water drains from the highest mountains - including the rugged San Christoval Range with peaks over 1,100 metres (3,609 feet) - it helps fill over 40 freshwater lakes.

A small off-the-grid community, located in Rose Harbour, Kunghit Island, is on the only private piece of land in the Southern Gwaii Haanas area.

Extreme exposure to wind and rain makes the forests on the west coast boggy and stunted, and tree species are dominated by western red cedar and hemlock.

Many common continental species are not found on the islands, or have evolved into unique subspecies such as the black bear which is larger than its mainland cousin.