“Wild Country” Adventure*Exploration An original series produced by: Keven H. Strehle Our trademark is spectacular visual storytelling—a unique, exciting and compelling brand of informational program combining discovery, adventure and issue exploration. Each program has a story arc that supports important conservation and stewardship issues related to the region we are profiling. Told through the eyes of extraordinary people, making a difference in a quest to improve, sustain or restore habitat for the benefit of all nature and outdoor enthusiasts, including wildlife. Shot in state-of-the-art HIGH DEFINITION “Wild Country” is a journalistically sound, ethically responsible, socially conscious program. A program highlighting the unique issues affecting each region we visit, its residents and its sportsmen/women alike. “Wild Country” is a program about the sportsperson’s journey of discovery, realization and subsequent study of significant conservation, restoration and stewardship issues of our time. We are living in a time where the choices we make about how we use, protect and sustain our resources will have a critical impact on the future use of those resources. We are at a critical stage in history, and the steps we take to preserve and protect our resources today, will define us to future generations, much like the historically significant mandates made by our nation’s 26th President, avid outdoorsmen and “first conservationist,” Teddy Roosevelt, during the early 1900’s. A. FORMAT. Each season will consist of 13 half-hour episodes. Each episode will have three main segments punctuated by several 1-3 minute interstitial segments, using spectacular cinematography, wow factor, a did you know, or tidbit of conservation information. Each main program will have a strong story thread relating to conservation, stewardship and/or restoration. B. STYLE. The narrative will be compelling and well paced, with an emphasis on telling each story visually using spectacular HD cinematography and told through the eyes of our subjects in their own words. A style Strehle has worked tirelessly to perfect resulting in a truly ONE-OF-KIND-PROGRAM. Graphics will be crisp, clean, and minimal; most of the commentary and narration, if necessary, will run with the speakers off camera, under the SPECTACULAR IMAGES. C. CONTENT. Each episode will feature recognized experts, locals, and those who are directly affected by the issue we are exploring. Equal and opposite sides of the issue will be explored in detail as well, leaving the viewer to answer the question at hand, themselves. Each week WILD COUNTRY will take viewers on one adventure, an exciting hunt, fishing adventure or wilderness adventure, the vehicle in our development of the issue or issues we are trying to convey to our viewers. Segments investigating natural, cultural and historical data that define the region, its mysteries, landmarks, and current benchmarks will be interwoven in a dramatic arc that will leave the audience entertained and informed. The issues will be seen through the many lenses of master story-teller and cinematographer, KEVEN H. STREHLE and will combine crisp action, exciting adventures and thought provoking imagery while telling the stories of the land and its people. Our goal each and every week is to find the extraordinary in every region, every activity, every issue and every character. We’ll explore what inspires them, what personal challenges they face and highlight their work, their principles, and how they are making a difference in the world of conservation. We’ll learn what motivates our central characters in their quest to improve our environment; share in their successes and help gain momentum for important issues relating to the outdoors. Each week our crews will participate in an outdoor adventure, a journey; and relay the passion, the emotion, the deeper meaning in why we as sportsmen seek the solitude of the outdoors and what we need to do to ensure future generations will have the same, if not a better world to explore and discover. Our award-winning feature-photojournalists will capture the characters as they immerse themselves in the outdoors while artfully documenting the regional beauty in such a way viewers are captivated, inspired and compelled to tune in each week. “WILD COUNTRY” is a socially responsible program, which can be the cornerstone of a network’s conservation/stewardship agenda. EPISODE 1: “Alaska: Girls Gone Wilderness” Come along as master outdoorsmen Capt. Rob Scherer navigates the waterways of the Alaskan Wilderness with a boat load of sportswomen. We’ll visit “a secret” river and experience several “magical” encounters with massive brown bears while fishing for salmon. Learn from Rob about the health of the salmon runs and learn firsthand why they call Misty Fjord, misty and “fly” with eagles. From above and below the surface, we’ll show off Alaska and its scenic splendor. PRODUCTION STATUS: COMPLETE EPISODE 2: “Aussie in Alaska.” Continue our journey in the remote Alaskan Wilderness with Australian cutie Rebekah Koutoulas as she and Rob attempt to catch Rebe’s first salmon! Rebe struggles with the rod, the weather and even Capt. Rob as she soaks in the rugged beauty of Alaska. The fishing action is hot, grizzly bears, black bears and eagles all make their appointed rounds even though Rebecca and Rob battle the elements. PRODUCTION STATUS: COMPLETE EPISODES 3-4: “The Shepherds” The Olmstead’s are a huntin’ family through and through, from Dad’s upland bird business to brothers Jason and Zach’s quality deer management program on Washington’s Mica Peak, the Olmstead’s work tirelessly to help sustain quality wildlife in the region. QDM is a story in itself and WC will explore the reasons behind the food plots, supplemental feeding and the results the Olmsteads program has yielded in the last two decades. “The Shepherds” will profile, Dad, Jason, and Zach Olmstead as they “tend” to the DEER, ELK, TURKEY, BEAR, MOOSE AND UPLAND BIRD flock. Wild Country cameras will folo right behind Jason and Zach on an adrenaline-pumping, run-and -gun elk hunt, with the show wrapped up with a father/son team on the 11-year-olds first successful turkey hunt. PRODUCTION STATUS: IN POST-PRODUCTION EPISODE 5-6: “Wyoming “ Experience the mid-west’s rolling plains as WC cameras profile outfitter and conservation-minded outfitter, Jon Ball. As a fishing guide and outfitter, Jon has been helping people have fun in the outdoors for over 20 years and his enthusiasm for the outdoors extends to all he comes into contact. Come along with our cameras as we go in search of plains whitetail deer, high plains antelope and monster mulies. Jon shares his philosophies on hunting, the future of hunting, the incredible beauty in Wyoming and more. PRODUCTION STATUS: SHOT, EDIT SCHEDULED. EPISODE 7-8: “History of Conservation” What is conservation, stewardship, sustainability? What are the most important issues facing the world and its sportsmen today? Is it global warming? Is it the declining population of bees, urban sprawl, receding ice caps? We’ll identify the issues and explore the solutions through the eyes of those who know the issues best, and those who historically, have had the most significant impact during the “green movement.” In this episode of Wild Country, we will visit the Olympic National Forest and one of three temperate rain forests left on earth, home to some of the world’s oldest living trees. A place where early ground breaking, conservation efforts were born. Site of one of the most significant presidential acts of the 20th century our nation’s “first conservationist,” Teddy Roosevelt, drew a line in the sand in the early 1900’s and challenged his fellow man to view our environment as a living breathing entity, a sportsmen himself, he saw the need conserve large tracts of land that would later become our national parks and forests. We’ll explore Teddy Roosevelt’s mandate to conserve as well the contributions of men like Aldo Leopold's and his enduring legacy and passion for conservation. Further we’ll explore the impact of the “conservation” movement of the early 1900’s, the grand plans of its early proponents, and where conservation and stewardship stand today. This special half hour will highlight the people who have had the most significant impact on the conservation movement and why. PRODUCTION STATUS: SHOT EPISODE 9: Prince William Sound, Exxon Valdez 20 years later: The Exxon Valdez oil spill was one of the most publicized and studied environmental tragedies in history. The studies of sportfishing activity and tourism indicators (vacation planning, visitor spending, and canceled bookings) all indicated decreases in recreation/tourism activity. The study estimated the losses at $2.8 billion. No human lives were lost as a direct result of the disaster, though four deaths were associated with the cleanup effort. Indirectly, however, the human and natural losses were immense-to fisheries, subsistence livelihoods, tourism, and wildlife. The most important loss for many who will never visit Prince William Sound was the aesthetic sense that something sacred in the relatively unspoiled land and waters of Alaska had been defiled. We’ll explore the events that led to the grounding of the Exxon Valdez on March 24th, 1988 on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. We’ll spend time with fisherman who lost everything during the tragic oil spill, examine the loss of wildlife, and its lasting impact during a grizzly bear hunt in this isolated corner of the world. This area was an otherwise unspoiled region and still after twenty years, signs are still there that this region may NEVER recover from the 10.8 million gallon spill. Today, unbelievably, there are still places where scientists dig a few inches into the sand and uncover the remnants of the spill, a reminder of the sheer magnitude of perhaps the most significant environmental disaster of our time. PRODUCTION STATUS: PRE-PRO EPISODE 10: Yellowstone Wolves: The reintroduction of wolves into the Yellowstone ecosystem is one of the most controversial restoration topics today. Wolves are predators, and in 1914, the United States Congress approved the funding to destroy the wolves. Government bounty hunters helped ranchers protect their livestock by killing the wolves. Sixty years later the Gray Wolf was listed as endangered. In 1973, Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act, and the Wolf Recovery Program was started to reintroduce the Gray Wolf to its natural habitat. Currently, about 160 wolves have been reintroduced to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. But this story does not have a fairy tale ending. Fearing for their livestock, the local ranchers filed a lawsuit and U.S. District Judge William Downes ruled that all the wolves and their offspring must be removed. Today, the controversy continues. Deer and Elk herds have been in sharp decline, ranchers continue to face losses caused by wolves are find remains of livestock attacked and killed by wolves on their land. Travel with us to one of the world’s crown jewels, Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Wyoming for a close up look and in-depth analysis of the reintroduction of wolves, the impact on wildlife, scientific review of the health of the eco-system and continuing battle between ranchers and wolves. Hear from ranchers directly, and see for yourself the negative impact the re-introduction has had. Hear the story from all angles, the ranchers, biologists, tourists and game managers alike will comment in our dissection of the issue. PRODUCTION STATUS: PRE-PRO EPISODE 11: Coiba Island: Panama: This island is the crown jewel of Panama’s new eco/adventure tour collection (it’s called the “Galapagos of Central America” for it’s unique and diverse biology), but from 1919 to 1993, it served as a hellish maximum-security prison. Most notoriously, Manuel Noriega used it as a concentration and extermination camp for his political opponents in the 1980’s. Once overflowing with over a thousand starving inmates awaiting torture or death, the prison is now dilapidated, rusted over, and almost empty. Our crew has thoroughly documented the prison, met face-to-face with the guards and inmates, and heard their tales of darkness and suffering as we walked along the unmarked graves lining the grassy field behind the prison. Hannibal Bank, off he coast of Coiba Island, is the richest offshore bank in the Pacific Ocean and is home to an incredible diversity of species: from whale sharks to killer whales to the “Grand Slam” species of sport fishing, marlin and pacific sailfish. We’ll identify the issues and explore this “wildlife oasis” and along the way swim sharks, surf the isolated breaks and learn why experts have described Coiba as “one of the richest eco-systems in the world.” PRODUCTION STATUS: 75% complete EPISODE 12: Alaska/Russia: “Kamchatka Penninsula” This virgin peninsula is 1000 miles long and has a population of 380,000 most of which live in the town of Petropavlovsk. Just 10 miles out of town the asphalt road turns into gravel and If you’re journey is to continue further into the wilderness you will need a four-wheel drive vehicle or a chopper. We will board a chopper and explore this land of geysers, hot springs, about 300 volcanoes (29 of which are active) and beautiful rivers full of fish – one of the biggest and the most plentiful trout populations in the world. This is a place where mother nature is at her best, still un-spoiled and one of the world’s last remaining untouched rivers. Thriving populations of bears, sea lions, and whales highlight this region of spectacular beauty and historical significance. Long a place shrouded in secrecy, Kamchatka was until recently known to Westerners only as a closed military region. With the fall of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union in 1990, the Kamchatka Peninsula was opened to the outside world. Kamchatka is a place of breathtaking beauty and unique wildlife, mixing striking scenery of mountains, tundra, forests and rugged coastline to create a wonderland for the adventurous traveler. Kamchatka is also known for the amazing diversity and abundance of its wildlife. Sable, ermine, Siberian bighorn (or snow) sheep, the Kamchatka brown bear, crab and, of course, salmon are all found in large quantities, In the northern half of the peninsula, reindeer herds are kept by the Koryaks, one of the indigenous peoples of the area. We’ll explore the region as we go in search of Rainbows. PRODUCTION STATUS: PRE-PRODUCTION EPISODE 13: The Great Yellowstone Fire: Flames have roared through the vast forests of Yellowstone National Park, many times over the centuries. But not since the 1700s had there been a blaze like the one that raced through the park in the summer of 1988. From the small lightning-ignited fires that began leapfrogging through the forests in June; through the incredible destruction on August 20, when flames blackened more of the park in a single day than they had in the previous 100 years; to the exhausting but successful battle in early September to save historic Old Faithful Village. We’ll explore the how the fires have affected the park’s wildlife and natural order. Take a glimpse into the ancient cycle of renewal that has already begun amid the charred ruins of Yellowstone’s forests and meadows. We’ll spend time with the US Forest service fuels and fire experts in a compelling, visually stunning review of one of the biggest natural disasters of all time. Fire has always been, and will continue to be, a natural part of the life cycle of our nation’s parklands and wilderness, we’ll explore the benefits and drawbacks of the fire and share the vivid memories some of the men and women who were there as The Great Yellowstone Fire raged through one of the worlds most iconic wilderness areas. PRODUCTION STATUS: PRE-PRODUCTION