CONSERVING AMERICA: The Wetlands

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Starring: Burgess Meredith
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Studio: VIEW, Inc.
Release Date: 2006-02-28
Wetlands are perhaps the most important ecosystems on Earth. Yet, due to development, over 50% of the U.S. wetlands have been destroyed, disappearing at a rate of 300,000 acres each year. CONSERVING AMERICA: The Wetlands, explores America's swamps and marshes through the stories of people working to protect the land they love.

Alligator Annie, former trapper turned tour guide, takes us for a ride on her boat through the coastal marshes of Louisiana. We meet conservation hero and author Marjory Stoneman Douglass who has championed her beloved Florida Everglades through her bestseller, "Rivers of Grass." We also experience the efforts of a Louisiana businessman, a game warden and a farmer who unite to save 70,000 acres of forest. Narrated by Burgess Meredith.

Awarded the Dove Foundation Family Approved Seal, this exclusive DVD bonus features include Conservation and Legislation, Where You Can Get More Information, How You Can Make A Difference, Digitally Mastered Audio and Video, Multi-Directional Interactive Menus and Dolby Digital Stereo Audio.

Wetlands Serve a Purpose
Bill Nye, the Science Guy, once said that humans don't like wetlands because they smell. He then went on to say that have much wildlife and keep floods from being out of control. This documentary couldn't just jump into focusing on environmentalists. It had to show birds, fish, and mammals first in order to convince viewers that wetlands aren't "wastelands."

The work says that more than half of America's wetlands are gone. It shows a map where it looked like only about 15% were left. This work is not geographically diverse, but that's no fault to the documentary makers, as the land is relatively limited to the Southeast. In discussing Florida, I'm a bit surprised that they didn't mention the rapidly increasing human population as a cause of the Everglades' problem. Florida is the third most populous state in the nation and they say Americans keep moving South.

The work was diverse in terms of gender. By showing little kids, it tries to be diverse in age, but this may have been shown just for the cutesiness factor. Again, this was very racially homogenous which is of course problematic.

The work also preaches, "If the wetlands disappear, so will many people's way of life." It shows Cajuns fishing and of course everyone loves their accents. But I have contention with this for several reasons. First off, they say it's farmers who are covering up wetlands. This is a battle between one group of people and another. Second, people's ways of life disappear all the time. Dot com is now dot bomb. We don't need as many postal workers because people use e-mail. My ancestors traveled north in the Great Migration to flee oppression in the South. If someone has to stop fishing for crawfish, they just have to adjust. If small town become ghost towns, well it happens. So when think about saving the wetlands, the people who live on them do not concern me as much as the endangered species do. Those people have other ways to survive.

Warning: this film may seem dated, as there is a focus on Louisiana but this was filmed before Hurricane Katrina. They mention levees, but don't suggest they could break. The work, obviously, doesn't say whether the Hurricane will remind us to help the swamps or if the swamps have been damaged even more.

It is great to hear good news about the environment, rather than the onslaught of bad news. This will make many viewers cheerful and hopeful.