These events, many coalescing around the Fairy Creek watershed northeast of Port Renfrew, represent a critical moment in BC's recurring history of conflict related to ecological values and the forest industry, recalling the Clayoquot Protests (or "War in the Woods") of the early 1990s.

[4] Precipitating events included the release in Fall 2020 of a major report[5] and recommendations related to managing and protecting old growth forests in British Columbia and subsequent delay in implementation of the report recommendations, together with increased logging activity in sensitive old growth areas of South Vancouver Island, including the Fairy Creek Watershed by Teal Jones, a forestry company based in Nanaimo.

[10] However, as the direct descendant from the family line claimed as the hereditary decision-makers or speakers for the territory, Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones supported protest activity, speaking for careful stewardship of the Fairy Creek Watershed, and against the destruction of remaining sacred places for short term gain.

[12] On June 4, 2021, Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations signed the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration to take back their power over their ḥahahuułi (traditional territories),[13] and on the following day gave formal notice to the province of B.C.

Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development announced that reported sightings of endangered western screech owls in the area had been confirmed.

[20] In spite of COVID-19 pandemic conditions, protest activity was sustained through Spring 2021, with social media calls going out for reinforcements as police removed activists from various camps and sites.

[21] On May 22, 2021, a visit to Fairy Creek by Tzeporah Berman, veteran of the Clayoquot protests of the 1990s and international programs director with Stand.Earth, ended in arrest for defying an exclusion zone being enforced by the RCMP.

[22] Days later, scores of senior citizens joined protesters at Fairy Creek at the invitation of Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones, passing unchallenged through the RCMP blockade.

[27] In May the Rainforest Flying Squad, an environmentalist group focused on the Fairy Creek Blockade,[28] alleged that Instagram deleted their account after they posted a video showing aggressive RCMP arrests of protesters.

[30][31] On July 20, 2021, the court action, initiated by a coalition of press groups including the Canadian Association of Journalists, Ricochet Media, Capital Daily Victoria, The Narwhal, Canada's National Observer, APTN News, The Discourse, Indiginews and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, received a favourable decision in the British Columbia Supreme Court.

[47] On July 1, 2021, PBS Digital Studios added a video called Terra explaining unique aspects of the temperate rainforest in Fairy Creek, including its mycorrhizal network and canopy soils which are still not fully understood.

The call for conservation, narrated by Joe Hanson (host of It's Okay To Be Smart), was uploaded to the PBS website and YouTube channel as part of the Overview series.