The Edge of the Wild 2015
Distributed by Green Planet Films, PO Box 247, Corte Madera, CA 94976-0247; 415-377-5471
Producer n/a
Directed by Gail Mallimson
DVD, color, 60 min.
Middle School - General Adult
Biology, Botany, Butterflies, Citizen Science, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environmental Activism, Environmental Studies, Lepidopterology, Urban Studies, Wildlife Conservation
Date Entered: 04/14/2016
Reviewed by Christopher Hollister, University at Buffalo LibrariesThis compelling documentary details a decades-long battle over the development of San Bruno Mountain in the town of Brisbane, California. Despite its location in suburban San Francisco and the resulting choke of urbanization, the mountain still has fragmented patches of pristine wilderness upon which three endangered species of butterflies and thirteen species of rare or endangered plants depend. Of particular note is the plight of two butterfly species—the callippe silverspot (Speyeria callippe callippe) and the Mission blue (Aricia icarioides missionensis)—both of which teeter on the precipice of annihilation as a result of habitat loss.
The Edge of the Wild is a complex story that pits developers of privately owned mountain property against conservationists who wish to preserve the last remaining patches of native wilderness and the critically endangered wildlife living there. Lifelong resident of Brisbane, Michele Salmon, is featured as a leader in the grassroots conservation movement, which continues to suffer legal and political setbacks. Other key players in the drama include a conflicted Brisbane City Council, an ineffectual U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a faceless Brookfield Homes Corporation that continues to bulldoze and build.
The reviewer highly recommends this title for academic, public, and school library collections.