Conservation Media’s photo, entitled Sage-grouse in Gas Country is one of thirty jury-selected photos for the 2012 Environmental Photography Exhibit at the American Mountaineering Museum February 24th.

Western settlement and market hunting decimated nearly all the big game species of the Great Plains. Nearly all of them have been restored, but the American Bison is still missing from the Great Plains. Help the National Wildlife Federation change this, and put bison back where they belong.

http://vimeo.com/27046339

Bison Restoration is not only possilbe, it is happening right now. Get involved with the National Wildlife Federation or the American Prairie Foundation.”

This video was produced by Conservation Media for National Wildlife Federation.

Building a home in a riparian area may be a dream come true for some, but we lose more than important bird habitat. You may just lose your home.

This film was produced by Conservation Media for Montana Audubon through a grant from TogetherGreen, an initiative of National Audubon and Toyota.

While watching this fun little film full of running, bouncing, and tumbling bighorn lambs, you can also learn how climate change may impact bighorn sheep and other larger herbivores. Produced for the Montana Conservation Science Institute.

On December 13th, 2010, the US Fish & Wildlife Service published a long-awaited report on the potential listing of the wolverine (Gulo gulo) under the Endangered Species Act.

Rare by nature, the 30lb (14kg) wolverine has achieved mythical status for its ability to kill moose hindered by deep snow and to drive wolves and grizzly bears from their kills. Scavenging and hunting, wolverines roam the high country where they depend on deep snowpack for denning. In fact, persistence of snowpack into late April is the greatest predictor of their occurrence, something that is measurably shifting due to climate change.

The USFWS report finds that protection under the Endangered Species Act is indeed warranted for the wolverine, but so great is the backlog of imperiled species, and so poor is the funding that protection for the wolverine must be deferred until the USFWS can deal properly with other priority species.

Although the report simultaneously acknowledges the imperiled status of the species and denies it protection, the report is at least significant in that it acknowledges that climate change impacts to habitat and connectivity are serious and reason to give rare and declining species like the wolverine federal protection.

Produced by Conservation Media for The Wolverine Foundation, this short film explores one of the most fascinating and least understood animals on the planet. This small, rare, and elusive creature may be able to kill a moose or fend a grizzly off a kill, but it faces serious threats such as climate change for which it is no match.

You can support scientific research by supporting The Wolverine Foundation. Go to www.WolverineFoundation.org to see how you can help.

We are pleased to announce that Open Space, our production for Sonoran Institute, has picked up another Official Selection at the CINE International Film Festival in Missoula. We will be at the opening reception on October 19th at 6 p.m. Filmmakers at the Roxy drinking beer and talking conservation! What could be better?

We are pleased to announce that our short films have picked up two more Official Selections, and in the same festival no less! Open Space and Crossroads both made the cut at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival this year. We plan on attending, so we’ll see you there!

The Northern Rockies are experiencing one of the largest pine white (Neophasia menapia) irruptions in decades. Pine trees, mostly ponderosas, are filled with billions of white butterflies.

This week we journeyed yet again back to the cottonwood gallery along
a nearby creek to see what breeding birds we might find. Here are
two quintessential sights from a warm morning in the gallery.

This male Lazuli bunting glances up at one of its mates, a dull brown
female, higher in the canopy.

Below, a bee pollinates cow parsnip blossoms, a plant which bears
love to eat in the early spring.

We also watched a western wood-pewee snatching passing insects
out of the air in a behavior typical of flycatchers called “hawking”.

Until next time…