The Last Herd
In the contiguous United States, wild bison are no longer free-roaming. With low natural mortality rates, the few wild herds that do exist are annually culled or fenced in to control their population. Others, such as those is Yellowstone National Park, are rounded up when they leave Park boundaries due to brucellosis, a disease that may be transmitted to cattle.
The Henry Mountains bison represent the last genetically pure and brucellosis-free herd that roams over a large area –over 385,000 acres without fences, culling, or roundups.
Despite all this space, Henry Mountains bison are caught within a complex web of public lands, grass, ranching, and government agencies. The Last Herd, an independent conservation film, documents this delicate balance and provides an example of how free-roaming bison and private interests can co-exist.
World Premiere at the 2019 Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Legacy
Over 150 years ago, Chinese Railroad Workers blasted and chiseled their way through the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains near Donner Summit, California while completing the Transcontinental Railroad. Despite this monumental achievement, the Chinese Railroad Workers’ contribution was excluded, ignored and forgotten from history. Today, grassroots groups including the USDA Forest Service are working together to retell this story.
World Premiere at the 2020 Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Forest News
Wildfires are burning more intensely than ever before. Through the U.S. Forest Services’ Forest News series, learn how and why high-intensity wildfire is more prevalent today than ever before –and what can be done about it.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Fire and Forest Health
On the Tahoe National Forest, wildland firefighters prepare for yet another fire season. But wildland firefighters aren’t the only Tahoe National Forest employees trying to stop catastrophic wildfires and increase forest health. Explore why our forests have changed and what’s being done to reverse this trend.
World Premiere at the 2020 Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Sierra Avalanche Center
The Sierra Avalanche Center functions as a private-public partnership between the US Forest Service and a not-for-profit organization known as Sierra Avalanche Center. Avalanche Forecasters gather avalanche, snowpack, and weather observations then use this data to create and issue avalanche advisories and avalanche warnings.