"A Forest Film"

The short film, "A Forest Returns", is an excellent documentary about the history of the revitalization of the Wayne National Forest during the past 70 years. As told by retired Jackson-based journalist and editor, Ora Anderson, the story shows how even in the midst short-term, "rational" interests, we can come together and help nature by in some cases neglecting it.

Anderson tells a compelling story about how areas that had been ravaged by deforestation in order to fuel the hot fires of iron smelts. After most iron production moved North after the extraction from the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota became more accessible, jobs in Southeastern Ohio began to dwindle. FDR's plan was to establish a national forest and purchased the land from homeowners who could do little, but cultivate a small garden for food. Everything else on their property had to "return to nature."

As the film shows, in a short amount of time, geologically speaking, the forests blossomed back in full color. Now, one can only really see the damaging effects of human industrialism from the various iron ovens scattered about the region.

I felt that this was an optimistic look back at how we can help stop, to a certain extent, the damage that we wrought against nature by merely leaving it alone. Now while this won't solve all of our problems, I feel as though "A Forest Returns" represents an idea that perhaps not all is lost because of our short-sighted self-interested motives.