What Better Place to Be Top of Form
when the days are short and the nights are long than curled up in front of a fire watching a good movie. We may not be able to provide the fire, but we can certainly provide excellent movies during the six-part “”Best of the International Wildlife Film Festival”” at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls.
On cold winter nights starting in January and continuing through February, you’ll have a great place to be on Thursday nights, and have a chance to screen some of the best wildlife documentaries that exist today, all features of international film festivals. These six films will especially highlight the wildlife indigenous to Montana, and efforts being made to preserve our animals and their habitats.
The first film, debuting on January 13, is entitled “”Yellowstone to Yukon: Wild Heart of North America.”” The Northern Rockies, sometimes called the Serengeti of North America, are home to the largest gathering of wildlife outside of Africa. This vast region of stunning wilderness is home to the continent’s great predators. This film documents the re-introduction of the timber wolf to Yellowstone National Park, and also follows the life cycle of grizzly bears, cougars, elk, caribou, Bighorn sheep and bison. The world’s last remaining herds of bison are featured in this film. Beginning in the Southern portion of the region at Yellowstone National Park, this superbly shot documentary continues through B.C. and into the Yukon Territory.
The January 20th showing is the first of a two-part series called “”Back from the Brink.”” Part 1, entitled “”Depletion”” depicts the stunning loss of natural resources in Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during which period of time our game was hunted nearly to extinction and our forests were depleted. This excellent program from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks also depicts the birth of the conservation movement.
“”Back from the Brink, Part 2 – Conservation”” will be shown on January 27th. The second part of this informative and educational program details the public and private efforts of Montanans to preserve and restore our wilderness.
This excellent documentary begins with exploitation and depletion, need and greed; and follows that up a successful story of the restoration and rebirth of Montana’s rich wildlife. Both parts include many historical photos, films, illustrations, paintings and interviews of old timers, citizens, sportsmen, historians and wildlife experts. This film concludes with an important message to Montana’s citizens about the importance of protecting our wildlife and their habitats.
On February 3rd, the excellent film “”Bear Wars”” will be shown. The range of the grizzly bear is at long last expanding, which is good news to conservationists. However, with this increased range comes an increased need for relationship management between man and bear. This documentary examines the controversy surrounding this sensitive issue. “”Bear Wars”” offers a fascinating look at one of North America’s most feared and most misunderstood land predators.
“”Thunderbeast”” will be shown on Febaruy 10th. Presented by the National Geographic society, this documentary discusses the management issues surrounding America’s last wild bison herd in Yellowstone National Park – one of America’s last great resources.
The film series wraps up on February 17th with three short films. “”Life in Peril: Montana’s Reptiles and Amphibians,”” “”The Middle of Some Nowhere,”” and “”America… Pass it On.”” These features discuss the challenges we face in conserving our entire state and the preservation campaign established during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial.