The environment in British Columbia has taken a beating since the arrival of Captain James Cook at Nootka Sound in 1784, when his crew traded small items for rich sea-otter furs.
The pelts were later sold in China for up to $300 apiece, which would be equivalent to roughly $5,000 today. So the fur trade stirred its own kind of gold fever, and in no time Pacific Coast sea otters were on the verge of extinction.