About this project

We are seeking funds to continue production of a documentary called The Edge of the Wild, a one-hour film about the battle to protect endangered species from the onslaught of suburban sprawl in two areas of California. The film follows the fallout from an exemption to the Endangered Species Act that allows landowners to kill endangered species if they pay fees that are used to help the species elsewhere. Controversial since its inception in 1982, the law has allowed compromise plans in almost 2000 places across the country to date. It is lauded by some as the last hope for dying species and reviled by others as an excuse to kill off endangered species in the pursuit of profit.

The Edge of the Wild is told from the perspective of two passionate grassroots environmentalists, Michele Salmon and Seth Adams, as they encounter the effects of this law in two places. Michele Salmon grew up on San Bruno Mountain, a 1,300 ft., 3,300 acre mountain with rolling green hills south of San Francisco. When she was a child, she played on those hills amidst droves of butterflies, but today her kitchen window looks out onto a housing development, and the butterflies are endangered and almost extinct. Determined to stop the building and save the butterflies before they die out, Michele and a group of passionate volunteers begin an eye-opening examination of the results of the Endangered Species Act exemption on San Bruno Mountain, and search into its role in the killing of the butterflies. The Edge of the Wild follows them as they bring their findings to light and fight to change the course of government complicity in this destruction.

In contrast, Seth Adams, a seasoned environmentalist and grassroots organizer near Mount Diablo, a 3,864 ft. peak 30 miles to the east, supports a plan with the US and local governments to protect endangered species from suburban sprawl. The plan allows for limited development by landowners if they contribute money to buy lands outside a boundary that has been set for urban growth. Seth and John Kopchik, the plan’s manager, have become expert real estate negotiaters, buying up and preserving huge amounts of habitat for endangered frogs, snakes, foxes, owls, and other species.

The Edge of the Wild tells both of these dramatic stories, painting an insightful portrait of the successes and difficulties in preserving wilderness today. While their approaches to saving endangered species are very different, both Seth and Michele are part of a movement of people creating a new culture of stewardship in order to save the very last remnants of ecosystems that have evolved over millions of years but could die out in a matter of decades. The film is a thought-provoking look at the state of wilderness in today’s world, where diversity cannot exist without a community of people to support it.

The film is due out in 2012, and will be used in a nationwide outreach program that will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the historic Endangered Species Act exemption. Your dollars will all go towards production costs for this compelling story, which will be presented to PBS for national airing.