Part One: The Fight for Conservation In an era of unchecked exploitation, a new breed of leaders emerges with radical ideas about adopting practices that benefit the greatest portion of the population. Part Two: Building the System In its early decades, the U.S. Forest Service had to invent the tools and policies needed to manage public lands. Natural and social disasters including catastrophic fires and the Great Depression had a powerful influence on the young agency. Part Three: Boom! World War II transformed the nation, as well as the U.S. Forest Service. The agency shifted from a stewardship role, caring for the land, to the role of production, fulfilling postwar demands. This was the time when the multiple use concept was put into action, and also the time when conflicts began to develop among competing interests. Part Four: The Greatest Good? With a more outspoken public and increased environmental activism challenging the interests of logging and ranching communities, the Forest Service found it difficult to determine the greatest good. A new scientific understanding of ecosystems helped form a vision for public land management that continues to evolve and guide the U.S. Forest Service.

The Greatest Good

Aldo Leopold is considered the most important conservationist of the twentieth-century. He is the father of the national wilderness system, wildlife management and ecological restoration. His classic book A Sand County Almanac inspires us to see the natural world as a community to which we belong. Green Fire explores Leopold's personal journey of observation and understanding and reveals how his ideas resonate today with people across the entire American landscape, from inner cities to the remotest wildlands. The film challenges viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land community.