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Wild & Scenic Film Festival- John Day, OR

  • Madden Brothers Performing Arts Center 116 Northwest Bridge Street John Day, OR, 97845 United States (map)

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is a collection of films that illustrate not only the challenges facing our planet but the work communities are doing to protect the environment and the places we love. The stories give us a sense of place and what it means to be responsible stewards of the earth. 

In 2003 the Wild & Scenic Film Festival was started by the South Yuba River Citizens League, a watershed advocacy group. Its international tour to over 200 communities around the globe allows SYRCL to share its success as an environmental group with other organizations. The festival is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal of using film to inspire activism. 

The festival’s five National Partners: Peak Design, CLIF Bar, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Klean Kanteen, and Earthjustice. They help to bring these inspiring films to communities across the country. 

The Blue Mountain Land Trust is delighted to host this festival with support from the Madden Brothers Performing Arts Center. It is a natural extension of our work to inspire people to act on behalf of the environment. 

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Doors open at 6:00 pm; Program begins at 6:30 pm.

If ticket information box will not display, click here to get tickets.

Wild & Scenic 2019 Films
The Last Herd
The Last Herd

The Henry Mountains bison herd roams over 385,000 acres of Southern Utah, “free from fences, culling, or roundups." Despite all this space, Henry Mountains bison are caught within a complex web of public land, ranching, and government agencies. The Last Herd documents the balance between free‐roaming bison and private interests.

Time: 23 minutes

Tracking Snow
Tracking Snow

Discover a novel way of studying elusive carnivores ‐ using snow! Join scientists Jessie and Tommy as they re‐purpose an old technique in a way that not only revolutionizes how we study threatened species and manage our landscapes, but also highlights the importance of collaboration in conservation.

Time: 5 minutes

Renewal: Think Like a Scientist
Renewal: Think Like a Scientist

Featuring an emerging young scientist from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Renewal is a heart‐warming story of transformation and restoration. Produced with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, this film is part of HHMI's Think Like A Scientist series. It follows up on Producer Jessica Plumb's award‐winning feature, Return of the River , which chronicled the largest dam removal in history.

Time: 8 minutes

For the Love of Mary
For the Love of Mary

First‐time 97‐year‐old runner, George Etzweiler, completed the race up the northeast's tallest peak, Mount Washington, when he was 69 years old. Despite having a pacemaker, the State College, Pennsylvania resident competes in the grueling 7.6‐mile race up nearly 4,700 feet of paved road, breaking his own record each year for the oldest finisher. In addition to his ancient, lucky, green running shorts, Etzweiler carries something else special with him: The memory of his late wife of 68 years, Mary.

Time: 6 minutes

Hear Our Olympics
Hear Our Olympics

The wild Olympic Peninsula is like nowhere else. It has been recognized as a National Park, a wilderness area, an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, and the quietest space in the lower 48. Yet, the park's rare and distinctive soundscape is threatened by new and unnatural noises: Navy electronic warfare training by jet in the skies over the park. Hear Our Olympics examines this threat and the challenges it poses to the park's soundscape as well as to U.S. military veterans.

Time: 5 minutes

Cowboys and Scientists
Cowboys and Scientists

Thirty years ago, a partnership between Archbold Biological Station and Buck Island Ranch inspired a new mission: cowboys and scientists working together to advance scientific discovery on a ten thousand acre working cattle ranch in Florida's Northern Everglades. Bridging this cultural divide has resulted in a series of transformative discoveries that have begun to reshape our misconceptions about agriculture, sustainability, and conservation in the 21st century.

Time: 8 minutes

Forest on Fire
Forest on Fire

The Eagle Creek fire ravaged the Columbia River Gorge, causing communities to evacuate, and stranding 150 day‐hikers who dramatically hike nearly 20 miles to safety. The fire was set by a 15‐year‐old boy who threw a lit firework into a dry ravine on the Eagle Creek Trail. This film includes accounts from an eyewitness who saw the boy start the fire, the stranded hikers, and people from the communities that persevered and took care of each other.

Time: 30 minutes

Your Rivers Need You
Your Rivers Need You

The Red River in Kentucky was slated to be dammed in the early 60s and young landowner Joe Bowen supported it. He even gave the speech in favor of the dam against Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and the Sierra Club. Not anymore. “In 75 years of living, I’ve changed my attitude about this wild river. The river is ours. So if it’s ours, then it’s also our responsibility. I want my great‐ grandchildren to see what I have seen.” In 1993, the Red River received Wild & Scenic River Designation.

Time: 6 minutes

My Irnik
My Irnik

A young father teaches his son about the value of shared adventures, exploration and his ancestral Inuit heritage.

Time: 15 minutes

Imagination: Tom Wallisch
Imagination: Tom Wallisch

We’ve all been that kid sitting in the back seat of our family car, wishing we were somewhere else. Through the boredom, the driveway snow piles, sidewalk handrails and stair sets start to tease our inner skier. Watch day dreams come to life as Tom Wallisch shreds the snowy streets of Nelson, British Columbia.

Time: 5 minutes

Climbing out of Disaster
Climbing out of Disaster

In the immediate aftermath of Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria, a group of local climbers bands together to use their skills and knowledge for the greater good of the community.

Time: 8 minutes

Earlier Event: April 13
WWBWC Project Tour
Later Event: April 20
Nature Kids: Earth Day