Paradise Saved

For the first time at EcoFocus, we present an environmental selection from the George F. Peabody Awards Collection housed at the University of Georgia Special Collections Library. In 1981, the National Park Services drew up a new management plan for Cumberland Island Seashore. Georgia’s largest and southernmost barrier island, restricted to 300 visitors a day, was slated to have its attendance increased to more than 1400 a day. This program examined the sides of the argument, public reaction to the proposed changes, and the unique botanical, ecological, and historical characteristics of the island. In this 1982 Peabody Award-winning documentary, photographer George Gentry has captured on film the magnificence of one of Georgia's most beautiful barrier islands. At the same time, Don Smith and Forrest Sawyer teamed up to produce a telling documentary which examined the pros and cons of a National Park Service's decision to increase the visiting limits. Thus, viewers of WAGA-TV's "Paradise Saved" were treated to a quality of visual beauty not often seen on television and, at the same time, were informed, enlightened, and challenged concerning the problems of retaining a great natural heritage and a diminishing resource-the unspoiled beauty of the Atlantic Coast. Directed by Michael Allen for WAGA-TV.