Past, present and future `Green Fire,` a new Aldo Leopold

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2011
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The Country Today SECTION
Photo by Megan Parker
ALDO LEOPOLD AND A
LAND ETHIC FOR OUR TIME
the Aldo Leopold Foundation
of
pictured here in Photo
about 1940, and his family restored
Right The
and fauna.
worn-out farmland near Baraboo by plan-ting thousands of pine trees,
restoring
Baceb0
Aldo Leopold,
i n
fl Shack near
AbOVe:
prairies and documenting
ensuing
changes
in
offers
tours of
the
Aldo Leopold Foundation
Past, present
and future
`Green Fire,' a new Aldo Leopold
documentary, weaves his life story
with his contemporary influence
hrough making "Green
Fire," a new movie about
Aldo Leopold, filmmakers
Steve and Ann Dunsky found their
perspective changing.
The Dunskys, who are filinrnakers for the U.S. Forest Service, live
in San Francisco
and own Steve's
grandparents' farm
in Connecticut
"Our thought
was always we'd
go back there
and try to do
something with
the land, at least
Steve
to help pay the
Dunsky
taxes," Ann Dunsky said. "But
frankly, after
working on this
Leopold project,
we really are now
looking at it in a
completely different way. Now we
want to go back
and see what we
Ann
should do with
Dunsky
the land, how to
restore it."
That's the kind of changed thinking that Buddy Huffaker wants to
see as a result of the film. Huffaker
is executive director of the Aldo
Leopold Foundation in Baraboo and was the
film's executive
producer.
"The film poses
a challenge for
people to think
Huffaker more deeply and
critically about
their relationship to the natural
world and how to get involved in
their own community with conservation projects that will make the
land healthier," Huffaker said.
"Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and
a Land Ethic For Our Time" premiered Feb. 5 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Leopold began his career with the
U.S. Forest Service in the Southwest
before moving to Wisconsin.
"Green Fire" is the first fulllength, high-definition documentary
film made about the noted conservationist. It's a production of the
Aldo Leopold Foundation, the U.S.
Forest Service and the Center for
Humans and Nature in Chicago.
The movie's title stems from
a passage in Leopold's book "A
We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green
fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever
since, that there was something new to me in those eyes —
something known only to her and to the mountain.
I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that
because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves
would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green
fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain
agreed with such a view.
— Aldo Leopold, "A Sand County Almanac"
99
brief
biography
Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator and writer.
His most famous work was
"A Sand County Almanac,"
published in 1949.
Leopold was born
in 1887 and raised in
Burlington, Iowa. He graduated from Yale Forest
School in 1909 and began
a career with the U.S.
Forest Service in Arizona
and New Mexico.
In 1924, he took a transfer
to the U.S. Forest Products
Laboratory in Madison. In
1933, Leopold was appointed chairman of the game
management department at
UW-Madison, the first such
position in the country.
Leopold and his family
bought a worn-out farm
near Baraboo and set about
restoring the land.
Just one week after receiving word in 1948 that
"A Sand County Almanac"
would be published,
Leopold died of a heart attack while fighting a neighbor's grass fire.
Photo courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation
Leopold was a prolific writer, with his most famous work being "A Sand County Almanac," which was
published in 1949, a year after he died.
conservation biologist and a biographer of Leopold,
serves as the onscreen guide in the
film.
Sand County Almanac," in which
"I have to say
he describes shooting a wolf in the
as a shy MidwestSouthwest. The experience changed ern boy, it's never
his perspective on wolves' role in
comfortable seeMeine
the ecosystem.
ing yourself on
More than simply a biography
the big screen like that and knowof Leopold, the 72-minute film
ing that you're going to be seen
also explores his modern-thy legby lots and lots of people," Meine
acy, said Steve Dunsky, the film's
said. "It's awkward for me, persondirector.
ally, but I also feel responsibility to
"One of the important objectives
share the interesting work I've been
of the film was to show why Leoinvolved with on Leopold. The film
pold is important today, or is even
seems to be touching people. Peomore important today than he was
ple really seem to be enjoying it:'
in his own time," he said.
The film uses photos, coneThe foundation urged weaving
spondence, manuscripts and other
those two story lines together to
documents from the Aldo Leopold
make Leopold's legacy more acces- Archives and historical film and
sible to viewers, Huffaker said.
contemporary footage of land"As we interact with people all
scapes that influenced Leopold and
across the country, what is striking
that he in turn influenced.
to us is how relevant everybody still
Three of Leopold's children offer
feels his life and ideas are," he said. their insights, as do environmen"We wanted that to really come
tal writers, scientists, public policy
through. We think that helps make
leaders, business leaders and leadhis ideas that much easier to connect ers of nonprofit groups inspired by
with and they resonate bettet"
Leopold.
Curt Meine of Prairie du Sac, a
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
Story by Megan Parker
has recognized for several years
that Leopold's story would lend
itself well to film, Huffaker said.
"The work of the Leopold Foundation, we figure out new ways
to communicate Leopold's ideas.
We've done different versions of
`A Sand County Almanac.' We've
worked on translations," he said.
"But in today's changing world,
clearly film and other kinds of
mediums are important to reach
new audiences:'
The Dunskys said they were
thrilled to take on the project.
"This is a dream job. This is
really a very special project," Ann
Dunsky said.
The project took about three
years, with two years of shooting
and editing footage, Steve Dunsky
said. They traveled for interviews,
especially to the Southwest and the
Midwest.
"One of the themes of the film is
Leopold's land ethic applies across
the entire landscape from the most
gritty urban areas all the way out to
the wilderness. We see Leopold as
being a champion of nature wherever it is," he said.
Huffaker said he saw the film at
various stages of development.
"When I saw the final piece
For more information about
"Green Fire," including
dates and locations of upcoming screenings or information on how to host a
screening, visit www.
aldoleopold.org/greenfire/
index.shtml or call 608-3550279, ext. 25.
all polished and put together, the
cinematography is stunning and
the story line is just really compelling. I am really pleased and
proud about the way the film came
together," he said.
Response has been great, Huffaker said. "Green Fire" has been
accepted into the largest film festival in Latin America, in Guadalajara, Mexico, and requests for
screenings have come from Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Croatia, India
and China.
"Green Fire" will be available
for purchase on DVD in late April
and will air in spring 2012 on Wisconsin Public Television.
Megan Parker can be reached
at 800-236-4004, ext. 3275 or
[email protected] .