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.

Directed by Sean Stiller, Geoff Morrison

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"A beautiful documentary depicting the bio-cultural connections to ancient temperate rain forests that has inspired love, devotion, and respect for all beings in leading humanity back to its deeply profound connection with Nature." Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist, Wild Heritage, Project of Earth Island Institute

Available from Bullfrog Films