In the 1960s the U.S. Forest Service decided that the Mineral King Game Refuge in the mountains of California should be developed as a ski resort. This project was ultimately awarded to the Walt Disney corporation who expanded the concept to the size of an all year destination resort. "Mineral King" explores the alpine beauty, the wildlife and the people of Mineral King. It portrays the mining era and the logging of giant redwoods at Atwell Mill. The film makes the argument that Mineral King should not be developed, that it should be allowed to remain a wilderness in its natural state. The film portrays the damage that the ski resort would inflict on the landscape as well as the threat posed to Sequoia National Park by the mountain highway that would have to be built through the Park to reach the resort. Fortunately Mineral King was saved and is now part of Sequoia National Park. This 1972 film reminds us of its early brush with mining and the averted disaster of a massive ski resort. More broadly, it says our effort to preserve America's remaining natural landscape will require unending vigilance.
