VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Two biologists say they have evidence that gray wolves in British Columbia's coastal rainforests are genetically unique.

Chris Darimont and Paul Paquet have been studying the genetic makeup of coastal gray wolves from north of Vancouver to the Alaska panhandle since May.

In a 62-page report released Wednesday, they wrote that the coastal wolves are morphologically distinct, meaning they look different, from gray wolves in the province's inland regions and from every other kind of wolf as well.

The findings are based on field research by Darimont and Paquet and genetic tests at UCLA on samples of wolf feces and hair. Darimont said he and Paquet need to do more field research and submit their findings for independent scientific review.

Alex Dabrowski, a spokesman for the provincial Environment Ministry, said no one in government has seen the report, which was commissioned by the Raincoast Conservation Society.

Differences between coastal and inland wolves, although subtle, seem significant enough to indicate the coastal wolves are a "distinct genetic management unit," Darimont and Paquet wrote.

If that proves to be the case, there will be profound consequences for logging because coastal wolves' main food source, black-tailed deer, thrives only in old-growth forests, Darimont said.

Both believe that the Coast Mountains have provided a sufficient barrier so coastal and inland wolves could evolve separately and that the coastal wolves are genetically identical to those which once flourished in California, Oregon and Washington state before being eliminated by habitat loss and hunting.