Learning the future of forests

The U.S. Forest Service and University of Wyoming, Ruckelshaus Institute will host a public screening of their collaborative video series, “Our Future Forests: Beyond Bark Beetles,” today in Saratoga.

The event will be held at the Platte Valley Community Center, starting at 6:30 p.m. today, and admission is free.

“Our Future Forests: Beyond Bark Beetles” is a series of 10 short videos exploring effects of and responses to the recent mountain pine beetle outbreak in our local forests. The films, all of which take place in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, highlight impacted user groups and areas, as well as share actions the U.S. Forest Service and others are taking to respond to the outbreak.

The videos take viewers to meet hunters, rock climbers, fire lookouts, city water managers, foresters, volunteers, and many other diverse characters who are dealing with effects of bark beetles. Locations include the Sierra Madres, Hahn’s Peak Lake, Rob Roy Reservoir, Vedauwoo and others.

Acclaimed videographer Morgan Heim shot and produced the videos.

The showing will last approximately one to one-and-a-half hours. Local forest service staff and some of those involved in the making of the series will be on hand to talk about the project, as well as related topics.

The project is a partnership between the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources.

This video series is one piece of a multi-pronged project to help people better understand the bark beetle epidemic that has included a public speaker series, publication of an annotated bibliography for forest managers, and creating a library of forest photos for various uses.

 

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