A film we were hired to produce for the Oregon chapters of The Nature Conservancy and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers as well as the Oregon Zoo. ...

At the very headwaters of the Boise River, a Canadian mining company has proposed what would be the world's largest open-pit molybdenum mine. Mining is the number one toxic polluter in the U.S. Time and time again, open-pit mines like the one proposed at the headwaters of the river that flows through Idaho's capitol city have polluted waterways with arsenic, lead and industrial toxins. The health of our river and our children's future depend on the choices we make today. Please stand up for the Boise River and say No to the Cumo mine. Join the fight for our river. Produced for the Idaho Conservation League ...

"Living with Carnivores: Boneyards, Bears and Wolves" is a documentary film about living with large carnivores. The story begins a decade ago in western Montana’s Blackfoot River Valley and explores how a rural agricultural community responded to the resurgence of grizzly bears and wolves. The film explores the thoughtful “can do” approach of Montana ranchers who realized that the age old practice of dumping dead livestock onto “boneyards” was destined to spell trouble by attracting grizzly bears and wolves onto ranches resulting in poor outcomes for wildlife and ranchers. At its core, this film attempts to illustrate that it is possible to transcend ideological divides and to solve serious problems in a polarized world. Produced by Alpenglow Press Productions and Seth Wilson Filmed and edited by Jason D.B. Kauffman, Alpenglow Press Productions Narration by Craig Johnson ...

Idaho Conservation League’s artist in residence (AIR) program began in 2013 and stemmed from conversations about how ICL could better share the beauty of the places we work to protect and how we could tell the Idaho story in creative new ways to expanded audiences. How do we create a nexus between art and nature? Ta da! ICL's artist in residence! ICL's 2015 Artist in Residence is photographer Peter Lovera. We're excited to see what the coming year will inspire as he shares his photography skills and storytelling talents with us. Expect to see more from him throughout 2015. ...

Trailer for People and Carnivores: Boneyards, Bears and Wolves, a soon-to-be-released documentary film about living with large carnivores. The story begins a decade ago in western Montana’s Blackfoot River Valley and explores how a rural agricultural community responded to the resurgence of grizzly bears and wolves. The film explores the thoughtful “can do” approach of Montana ranchers who realized that the age old practice of dumping dead livestock onto “boneyards” was destined to spell trouble by attracting grizzly bears and wolves onto ranches resulting in poor outcomes for wildlife and ranchers. At its core, this film attempts to illustrate that it is possible to transcend ideological divides and to solve serious problems in a polarized world. ...

Produced, filmed and edited by Jason D.B. Kauffman A Season of Predators is a feature-length documentary film that explores creative approaches that some in the northern Rocky Mountain states of Idaho and Montana have begun to use to reduce human-predator conflict. The film is set in two rural valleys where expanding predator populations have led to difficult resource challenges. Description A Season of Predators was produced, filmed and edited by Jason D.B. Kauffman during his master’s studies at the University of Montana’s School of Journalism. The documentary was filmed between May 2011 and April 2012. The film shines a light on some of the unique challenges rural westerners face living alongside large predators within the upper Blackfoot Valley in western Montana and the Wood River Valley in south-central Idaho. It also considers the collaborative, community based solutions residents of these two landscapes have developed and employed to address livestock losses to gray wolves and grizzly bears. In the Blackfoot Valley, trust built up over decades through collaboratively addressing pressing issues like invasive weeds, water quality and stream restoration have, in part, set the stage for successful partnerships related to predators. In the Wood River Valley, sheep ranchers, conservationists and state and federal agencies have successfully partnered to reduce sheep depredations by wolves since their return to the valley in 2007. A Season of Predators seeks answers for why these two communities have been successful addressing these challenges and then examines whether these types of efforts may be viewed as emerging models for other Western communities facing similar challenges. ...