California Forever: The Story of California State Parks

It's hard to believe, but during a period in the 19th century, giant California Redwood trees were cut down and sent on a display tour across the United States to places where people unlikely to visit the West could pay to see them. Eventually, sympathy for those trees grew to the point where the concept of protecting and preserving them for Americans to view in their natural state became a government priority. From this sentiment came the idea of protecting Yosemite as California's first park, a grant signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Filmmaker David Vassar's two-part PBS-aired California Forever charts the movement to create state parks in California, which was an uphill battle for years due to many competing interests—squatters, farmers, timber companies—who tried to exploit these public lands for private purposes. The documentary looks at major players in the struggle (including the legendary nature conservator John Muir), some of whom were hired by the government to delineate park areas and define their purposes (including making nature available to all economic classes—a new idea), while other visionary activists raised money to buy lands unofficially and keep them safe. California Forever also explores how California's different parks, taken together, say much about the state's history and natural variety, from coastal parks to restored Spanish missions to the eye-popping Hearst Castle. Compared to the dignity of part one of the documentary, part two is more reminiscent of an episode of TV's Cops, revealing the often-disgusting misuse of contemporary parks by various offenders, as it contrasts park use by people quietly seeking nature with that of, for instance, those who bring their ruinous off-road vehicles into delicate bio-systems. Highly recommended, particularly for libraries in California. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)