GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION
American Rivers and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition will host the Wild Rivers Film Tour in Livingston on May 12, in Bozeman on May 26, and in Red Lodge on June 11.
The film tour celebrates the 40th anniversary of Montana’s four Wild and Scenic Rivers and is meant to inspire Montanans to take action to protect more of the state’s iconic waterways.
The Wild Rivers Film Tour showcases four provocative and soulful films that weave adventure, conservation, angling and paddling into one night of entertainment. The tour includes three short films –“Legacy,” “Cast,” and “The Important Places” – as well as a feature-length film, “Our Local Epic.”
“Our Local Epic” chronicles the harrowing first descent of a class V whitewater canyon by a team of kayakers including Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and one man’s mission to protect the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River from being dammed, ultimately leading to Wyoming’s first Wild and Scenic River designation. “Our Local Epic” was an official selection in the 2016 Wild and Scenic Film Festival in California and at the 2015 Telluride Mountain Film Festival.
Additional short films highlight a father-son connection to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon; a beautifully shot story about sense of place and family through fly fishing the Wise River in the Big Hole Valley; and a legendary fishing guide’s quest to protect the Snake River headwaters around Jackson, Wyo.
Proceeds from the Wild Rivers Film Tour will benefit Montanans for Healthy Rivers – a coalition of businesses, sportsmen and conservation groups working together to designate new Wild and Scenic Rivers in Montana.
Montanans for Healthy Rivers has galvanized support for Wild and Scenic protections for more than a dozen of Montana’s most cherished streams, including East Rosebud Creek; the three forks of Rock Creek; and the Gallatin, Madison, Smith and Yellowstone rivers. The three forks of the Flathead River and the Upper Missouri River through the Breaks were the last – and only – Montana rivers to be recognized as Wild and Scenic when Congress passed a bill designating them as such in 1976.
“This inspiring collection of river films features stories shot on location in the Greater Yellowstone. They pull at our heart strings and encourage us to consider the value of conserving Montana’s streams,” said Charles Wolf Drimal, waters conservation associate for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.
“As the angling and boating season begins, the film tour sparks an excitement for returning to the waters while reminding Montanans that the places where we play deserve protection for future generations,” said Michael Fiebig, associate director of the American Rivers Northern Rockies office.
Tickets are available at the door or in advance at greateryellowstone.org/events. The May 12 Livingston showing will be held at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts; the May 26 Bozeman showing will be held at the Emerson Cultural Center; and the June 11 Red Lodge showing will be held at the Bull and Bear Saloon. The doors for all shows will open at 6:30 p.m. with the first film rolling at 8 p.m.
American Rivers and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition both contribute to the leadership of Montanans for Healthy Rivers. American Rivers works to protect and restore the nation’s rivers and streams. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is dedicated to protecting the lands, waters and wildlife of the 20-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
