The Great Bear Rainforest Agreements of 2006 and 2009 designated one-third of the region fully protected. The isolated nature of this large area makes monitoring threats like poaching and trophy hunting, overharvesting, and illegal fishing a challenge. Limited federal and provincial resources mean that enforcement staff do not patrol the coast regularly. Local Guardian Watchmen programs led by First Nations communities on the North and Central Coast play an integral role in the research, monitoring, and protection of the natural and cultural resources of the area. The Guardian Watchmen are following in the tradition of their ancestors, who have safeguarded the ecological health of their territories for millennia.