The provincial government says the historic Great Bear Rainforest legislation will take effect on January 1st. Regulations bringing the act into force will create eight new special forest management areas totalling more than 26-hundred square kilometres. The government says timber supply areas will be reconfigured, with the allowable annual cut for the entire rainforest set at 2.5 million cubic metres per year for the next 10 years. The Great Bear Rainforest covers 6.4 million hectares on the north and central coast and is home to 26 separate First Nations.