Great Lakes Patrol assigned to operate against criminals who were ravaging the logging industry. These so called timber pirates conducted illegal cutting of timber on federal land and then smuggled the valuable commodity out of the area in order to sell it. The areas most affected were in the western Great Lakes region, along the coasts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Much of these forested areas controlled by the government were reserved for the building of new warships. The illegal timber trade centered on Chicago and Milwaukee. It was nearly as violent as the alcohol trade, which was carried out over the
The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes the rocks and the folds in the earth of farm landscapes viewed from the air. Toward the end of the film the canoeist seems finally to be safe from violent change. He dips his cup for a drink, but with his second sip discovers that the water has been fouled by human-produced industrial waste. "The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes" was created by the NFB for the educational market, with the working title "Evolution of the Great Lakes". The film proved so popular with children and teachers in test screenings that it was blown up to 35 mm