Murie Film Project

Charlie Craighead and Bonnie Kreps completed the Murie Film Project in the fall of 2000. A premier of the rough cut was shown at the Smithsonian Institute in March 1999 and the premier of the final was shown at the Jackson Lake Lodge. The Mardy Murie Film Project was a collaborative effort of professional filmmakers, writers, musicians and biologists to produce the definitive film biography of Margaret E. Murie. Mardy, as she is affectionately known, has long been considered the mother of the American conservation movement. Mardy is the widow of Olaus Murie; she and her husband were two of the first naturalists in Alaska. Mardy was born in Fairbanks, and has written several books about her life and her travels with Olaus. Now 96, Mardy lives in her log home in Moose, Wyoming, where she continues to speak out for wilderness. This one-hour documentary, in keeping with Mardy's life, is being done with neither the backing nor the constraints of commercial television. Donations and grants over the past few years have enabled us to film Mardy telling her Alaska stories, talking to new generations of conservationists, working at home and telling of her life with her late husband, naturalist and artist Olaus Murie. We have collected and catalogued hundreds of photographs from Mardy's years in Alaska, and her own diaries and journals vividly tell of the adventures she lived. We also researched all the public domain film of her years spent actively lobbying for wilderness. The film is narrated by Harrison Ford who generously donated his time. The finished film combines archival material with present day footage of Mardy, and the soundtrack includes both the indigenous sounds of her wilderness and the 1920's music with which she taught Olaus to dance....The Eskimo Waltz, The Hesitation Waltz and more. All profits from the film will go to a fund devoted to Mardy's favorite causes, conservation projects and educational films. The film was produced with grants from the One-World Arts Foundation, Sail Alaska, the Engelhard Foundation, and the Sierra Club among others. Videos of the film can be obtained at 1-800-345-9556. Additional information about the film and about the Muries can be found at the Murie Center website: mardy murie film project

 Other

Outreach, Advocacy, and Educational efforts

Outreach and educational efforts have been struggling to keep pace with our research and analysis activities.  We feel that this is a vital part of grizzly bear conservation.  Scientific studies are of limited use when the results are confined to technical journals and professional meetings; we plan to increase our efforts to inform the public and agency managers of the needs and the threats of grizzly bear populations.  In 1999 and 2001 we acquired video editing and filming equipment and are in the process of producing a video on grizzly and black bear ecology and the threats of human development activities.  The video will explain how large-scale reserve design is the only long-term solution for protecting threatened grizzly bear populations.  We will distribute the video to conservation groups and other interested parties.

A website on reserve design was produced in cooperation with the California Academy of Sciences, Genentech, and ALZA Corporation at http://www.accessexcellence.org/BF/bf06/. 

We also purchased a video projector to use for presentations and workshops. This has proven to be a valuable tool for presentations and its use is shared by many other conservation groups in Bozeman.

In October of 1998, 1999, and 2000 we convened  workshops at the B-Bar Ranch near Gardiner Montana.  Leading scientists and conservation advocates attended. The art and science of maintaining viable populations of native species, as human populations increase and habitat alteration accelerates, is a constantly changing field of expertise.  New tools and information are being constantly developed.   These meetings provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and technical approaches; primarily designs using carnivores as umbrella species; to determine the amount of land necessary, and the available habitat that needs to be protected in order to maintain populations of species including grizzly bears, wolverines, mountain lions, etc., and for implementation of those ideas through public outreach. The two goals of this workshop are to a) keep scientists abreast of new developments to increase their effectiveness, and b) make these critical efforts to preserve biodiversity accessible and understandable to the concerned public.

In 2001 we plan public presentations, the preparation of written materials, the completion and distribution of an initial video and work on a subsequent video, development of additional web-based educational materials, and magazine and television interviews, popular articles and books, and other educational activities. 

One of the primary goals of CERI has been to make important ecological knowledge available to the general public (especially students) as well as the scientific community. We have contributed to media articles, books, and movies.

Lance Craighead has set up a web site for Jean Craighead George and her wonderful books: Jean Craighead George where you can learn a little bit about most of her books.  Jean's books teach about life and the living world around us.

We have contributed to several books projects: A chapter in the book "Carnivores in Ecosystems" published by Yale University Press, edited by Tim Clark, Peter Kareiva, and Steve Minta. Chapter 11; authored by Lance Craighead, Mike Gilpin, and Ernie Vyse entitled Genetic Considerations for Conservation of Carnivores in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem".  And a chapter in the book "Metapopulations and Wildlife Conservation" published by Island Press, edited by Dale M. McCullough. Chapter 14: authored by Lance Craighead and Ernie Vyse entitled "Brown/Grizzly Bear Metapopulations" 

Lance Craighead completed a photographic book entitled "Bears of the World" published by Voyageur Press and Colin Baxter Photography in the Worldlife Library Series. BEARS OF THE WORLD This site will soon contain links to groups and individuals that are actively involved in conservation of these species.

One of the limitations of scientific research is the fact that many of the results are hidden away in professional publications or shared only with other colleagues at annual symposiums. Our research results have direct bearing on crucial conservation questions; particularly in the design and establishment of nature reserves and reserve networks which will be adequate to protect self-sustaining populations of all native species in the Northern Rockies. We plan to devote more of our time and effort into making this scientific knowledge available and understandable to the general public, and working to implement sound management practices within government agencies and by private landowners.

At one level we have begun writing more popular articles for general audiences, and developing skills in presenting photographic material, map information, and film production. At another level we are cooperating closely with other conservation organizations; providing them with pertinent data and analyses, interpretation and explanation of scientific results, and articles and lecture materials. Rather than restrict our activities to strictly scientific venues we are developing ties with grassroots conservation activists as well as land management agency professionals. As stated above, our overall goal is to ensure that decisions affecting wildlife and wildlands are based on the best available scientific knowledge and are not compromised by political expediency.

Lance Craighead teaches occasional classes at Montana State University where he is an Adjunct assistant professor of Biology, and serves on several graduate student committees.

This CERI web site will provide recent updates of our research findings, dates of important meetings, and critical conservation issues that require public involvement.