30 years after the original protests, journalist Stephanie Kwetásel'wet Wood travels to Clayoquot Sound, BC to find out whether Indigenous and environmentalist protesters won the battle but lost the war for old growth forests.
For many Canadians, their introduction to clearcut logging came from news reports about the Clayoquot Sound protests back in 1993, known as the War in the Woods, when some 12,000 people showed up on the remote west coast of Vancouver Island to join the blockades. While much of the area was spared, elsewhere in B.C., clearcutting remained the status quo, and old growth forests have continued to fall.
Today, precious little old growth remains, and First Nations and environmentalists are again taking a stand. This new War for the Woods has captured the attention of Canadians once again, including Stephanie Kwetásel'wet Wood, a journalist for The Narwhal who reports on Indigenous rights and the natural world.
She travels to Tla-o-qui-aht territory where the protests took place, meeting Tribal Park Guardians, community leaders and others. They are exploring new land use visions and models of Indigenous-led conservation, including phasing out old growth logging altogether, but as communities struggle to balance environmental stewardship with meeting their economic needs, the hurdles to protecting these ancient forests have grown ever more complicated. With an industry that prioritizes profits over the health of the forests, and precious time left to save these intact ecosystems, the stakes in today's War for the Woods could not be higher.
44minutes
SDH captions and scene selection.
Directed by Sean Stiller, Geoff Morrison
Produced by Nina Beveridge
Developed by: Mike Downie, David Wells
Executive Producers: Tanya Talaga, Stuart Coxe
Writers: Sean Stiller, Geoff Morrison
Narrator: Stephanie Kwetasel'wet Wood
Editor: Andres Landau
Director of Photography: Sean Stiller
Original Music: Daniel Monkman aka Zoon
Produced by 1000131324 Ontario, Makwa Creative Inc., Antica Productions Ltd.
David Foster, Director Emeritus of Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Author, Wildlands in New England and Hemlock: A Forest Giant on the Edge
"War for the Woods expertly weaves together the histories of the Clayoquot Sound blockades and today's continued fight for old-growth protection and efforts that bolster Indigenous-led conservation across the region. As the world desperately seeks solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises, it is always important to remember that Indigenous Nations have held caretaking responsibilities for the lands and waters for millennia, and this film demonstrates why Indigenous rights and authority need to be respected and supported."
Janet Franklin, Professor of Geography, San Diego State University
Gregory H. Aplet, Senior Forest Scientist, The Wilderness Society
Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist, Wild Heritage, Project of Earth Island Institute, Author, Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation
"Not all of us are fortunate enough to see the ancient cedars of British Columbia firsthand, but this beautiful documentary depicts the ancient trees and the lush ecosystem in a way that makes you feel as if you are there. Hearing the perspectives of the activists and the First Nations people who care deeply about these forests adds an even deeper dimension. It is a tragedy that these forests are still being destroyed; I hope War for the Woods is one more stepping stone on the path toward preserving them."