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2 versions:
27 minutes/Grades 7-Adult, 58 minutes/Grades 10-Adult
Produced by Arlen Slobodow/Public Interest Video Network
The true value of a forest can't be measured in board feet.
Forests are complex ecosystems which support an abundant web
of life, and their survival is crucial to the health of our
planet. Forests play a vital role in protecting our supply of
clean air and water.
In 1891 large tracts of U.S. forests were established as
reserves in an effort to improve and protect our native
forests. In 1906 these areas were designated National Forests,
and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was empowered to manage
them for the public trust.
Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the USFS, supported
selective cutting as a means to conserve timber in balance
with its use. Yet, today less than 90% of our native National
Forests remain. Since WW II, clearcutting has become the
preferred practice by the USFS, and the rate of timber harvest
from the National Forests has tripled. If we continue cutting
at the, we will wipe out all of our remaining native
National Forests within 20 years.
As citizens, we are subsidizing the destruction of our forests
with tax dollars, for the USFS is selling off our national
heritage to the powerful timber industry at below market
value. The timber industry is lobbying to continue the high
rate of logging in our National Forests on the premise that it
saves jobs. Yet it is the automation of the timber industry
and the export of whole logs which is costing the loggers and
the millworkers their jobs.
The USFS, once the steward of our wilderness, has abandoned
its conservation ethic and now favors the interests of the
timber industry. How much longer will we allow the USFS to
continue on its current path? Are we truly willing to lose all
of our National Forests, rich in biodiversity and beauty, so
that a few can profit?
Awards: Best of Show, NAAEE; Best Environmental, Ecological
Program & Merit Awards, International Wildlife Film Festival;
Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
- "Don't watch this film unless you're prepared to be made
furious... The old adage about pictures being worth a thousand
words was never more apt than when applied to this well-made
film." Workbook
- "Excellent report... examines many sides of the issues.
Highly recommended." -- Video Librarian
- "The evidence is damning... well researched. Recommended."
Library Journal
Subject Areas: FORESTS, ENVIRONMENT, GOVERNMENT, NATURAL
RESOURCES, SOCIAL STUDIES
Short version ISBN: 1-59029-474-4
Long version ISBN: 1-59029-472-8
For Fastest Service
Call TOLL FREE (800) 543-FROG (3764)
or FAX (610) 370-1978Bullfrog Films
Box 149, Oley PA 19547
(610) 779-8226
E-Mail: bullfrog@igc.apc.org