Tonight 8:30pm on Maori TV - looks like compelling watching:

" An unusual band of the most famous guitar-makers in the world (Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars, Chris Martin of Martin Guitars and Dave Berryman of Gibson Guitars) travel together into the heart of one of the most primeval rainforests on the planet. Their mission: to negotiate with Native American loggers and change the way this forest is logged before it’s too late for acoustic guitars. "



musicwoodthefilm.com/the-film/


NY Times review:
www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/movies/musicwood-looks-at-a-threat-to-instrument-makers.html

Rotten Tomatoes - 100%

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

Nice to hear directly from guitar-makers Bob Taylor, Dave Berryman (Gibson part-owner) & Chris Martin.
And also visit the guitar factories.

The doco is quite neutral in viewpoint, but at the end of the day, it looked clear to me that Sealaska (the Alaskan Indian corporation controlling the logging in the Tongrass National Forest) was out to make as much money as they could, as quickly as they could, in their lifetime - ie. by 'clear-felling' vast areas of the biggest & oldest Sitka Spruce trees, some up to 100m tall.

Worth viewing online if you missed it.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

They are almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben.

In 2015 Congress passed the Sealaska Land Bill with no restrictions on clear felling
The 2013 doco was citing as little as 5 years before all the giants would be felled.

I wonder if there are any left today...