Agency - English program:.Documentary Program - West.

Director, Mort Ransen ; producer, Gillian Darling Kovanic ; editor, Jack Morbin, Stuart De Jong ; writer, Mort Ransen ; cinematography, Martin Duckworth, Rudolf Kovanic, Peter Prince, Doug Sjoquist ; location sound, Eric Davies, Lisa Kolisnyk, Jonathan Ritchie, Sherry Antonishan, Paul Brosseau ; sound editor, Jamie Mahaffey, Daniel Séguin ; sound mix, null Sharpe Sound Studios Inc. ; composer, Carlos Lopes ; executive producer, Graydon McCrea.

Narrator, Mort Ransen.

Recorded 2001.

"Saltspring Island... close to a city, but full of magical, almost untouched places. A small town with a Saturday market. And in the middle of the island... trees, lots of trees." When the roar of chainsaws shatters the quiet of this idyllic setting, director Mort Ransen and other residents awake to an unexpected intrusion. A logging operation is underway in a central pristine valley. Within hours, a group of islanders rallies to oppose the cutting--only to discover that a logging company has purchased one of the largest expanses of undeveloped wilderness in the Southern Gulf Islands. Concerned about its potentially devastating impact on Saltspring's ecology, economy and natural beauty, the residents set out to stop the logging. The award-winning director of Margaret's Museum, Mort Ransen, turns his camera on his own community to document a lively and provocative debate. On one side--the developers, who defend their right to do what they want on private land. On the other--Saltspring residents, who blockade roads, chain themselves to logging trucks and lobby government to protect their island.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2023-08-10).