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The fight to save the Franklin River started in a totally different part of Tasmania's wilderness: with a proposal to dam the paradise inland beach of Lake Pedder. In this episode of Saving the Franklin, a mystery disappearance and a devastating loss signal to campaigners just how far they'll have to go in the next battle.

The Franklin Dam proposal symbolised a lifeline to struggling communities on Tasmania's West Coast, recovering from the end of a mining era. Yet for environmentalists, it symbolised destruction and greed.

In this episode of Saving the Franklin, the battle lines are drawn between pro-dammers and environmentalists and the State Government is caught in the middle, until it's forced to act.

The campaigners had painted the Franklin River as an untouched natural wonder, a place free from human interference: a wilderness.

But the rediscovery of a cave along the Franklin throws everything into question. The finding is so significant it reshapes modern understanding of human history – and it paves the way for a new strategy to save the River.

In this episode of Saving the Franklin, thousands of protesters fly into the sleepy town of Strahan to prepare for the biggest moment in the campaign: the blockade.

An army of national media descend, and the first bulldozer is taken upriver, for a shocking confrontation on the water. 

In this episode of Saving the Franklin, scenes on the West Coast get uglier and uglier, and the campaigners turn to the mainland for support as a Federal election looms.  

The Franklin river's fate all comes down to a legal challenge between state and federal powers.

In the final episode of Saving the Franklin: the moment this so-called wilderness war all came to an end.