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Forest Service Audios

Gifford Pinchot: A Life of Leadership
60 minute audio
This audio recording reflects on the life and activism of Gifford Pinchot, founding Chief of the Forest Service. You will discover as you listen to Char Miller's narration that Pinchot was one of the most compelling and charismatic figures of his time. He was at the forefront of the conservation movement in America and not only created the profession of forestry but also the National Forests.

Char Miller is professor of history and director of urban studies at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Climate Change in the Northern Rockies by Dr. Steve Running
An Audio Powerpoint Video (to be played in a computer)
Dr. Steve Running directs the College of Forestry and Conservation's Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group at the University of Montana in Missoula. His work as a lead author of the 2007 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report - which presents strong evidence that humanity is artificially warming our world -- recently brought him a share of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the IPCC committee and Al Gore. For more information, please visit http://www.ntsg.umt.edu/.

Cultural Videos

Kalaupapa - A Story to Tell
11:30 min., Jan. 2000

Kalaupapa, Hawaii is one of those rare places where the history that began in the 1860's is still alive today.  Located on the rugged shore of Molokai, Kalaupapa was chosen as the inescapable place to isolate Hawaiians who had contracted Hansen's Disease, better known as leprosy.  Some 50 people who had contracted the disease have chosen to live out their lives here.  They provide a link between the past and the present and can best tell the story of Kalaupapa.  A central part of that story has been Paschoal Hall.  Built in 1916, Paschoal Hall is the largest structure in the community.  Until the early 1960's it was the center of social gatherings.  Because of its special meaning to residents, Paschoal Hall was chosen for a major historic preservation project.  Leading the project was Bernie Weisgerber, a (now retired) Forest Service Historic Preservation Specialist. This program highlights the efforts to restore Paschoal Hall and presents the historic preservation challenges that remain.  Now and in the future, these structures will play a vital part in telling the story of Kalaupapa.

20 min., 1994 Closed-Captioned

This program takes you on the 1,170-mile journey taken by the Nez Perce tribe in 1877. Pursued by the United States Army, 750 Nez Perce men, women, and children made a heroic yet futile flight seeking freedom and peace far from their homeland. The program highlights the need to preserve and interpret this landscape of history.

Preservation Passed On
9 min., 1996

In the Northern Rockies, at least 800 old cabins, fire lookouts, and ranger stations still stand on federal and state public lands. Right now, the skills that are necessary to maintain historic buildings are in the hands of a few people. In the Forest Service Northern Region, a Historic Preservation Team has been established to remedy this situation. Since 1991, these craftsmen have been rejuvenating buildings constructed between 1800 and 1940. And in the process the team has annually trained some 50 - 70 federal and state public land employees. This program highlights the application of this training.

These Old Cabin Logs
45 min., 1996

The ghost town of Garnet, Montana is the setting of a training session on repair and replacement of logs. Bernie Weisgerber, a (now retired) Forest Service Historic Preservation Specialist, goes through the process of inspection, hewing, notching, daubing, splicing, log replacement, jacking, cribbing, and safety.

These Old Cabin Roofs
45 min., 1995

The setting is the historical Nine Mile Ranger Station on the Lolo National Forest. The topic is wood roofing. Bernie Weisgerber, a (now retired) Forest Service Historical Preservation Specialist, takes you through the entire process of replacing a roof on a historic building.

These Old Cabin Windows
68 min., 1995

The Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site in Deerlodge, Montana provides the setting for a unique training course on repairing windows on historic buildings. This historic ranch administered by the National Park Service gives visitors a glimpse into the life of a cattle baron in the mid-1800's. Bernie Weisgerber,a (now retired) Forest Service Historic Preservation Specialist, with the help of Keith Edge of the National Park Service, goes through a step-by-step approach for repairing these old windows.

These Old Cabins
10:30 min., 1994 (Historical)

The historic cabins, ranger stations, and other buildings of the Forest Service hold the tales of one of the nation's most important public land agencies. In the Northern Region of the Forest Service, a group of highly skilled craftsmen have formed a Historic Preservation Team. The team is trained to maintain and restore the historic buildings of the region. Thousands of visitors still make use of these buildings and enjoy their historical value.

This Old Cabin Masonry
50 min. 1996

Masonry is the topic and Old Faithful is the setting for this training video on historic preservation. Bernie Weisgerber, a (now retired) Forest Service Historic Preservation Specialist, introduces Dominic DeRubis, Master Mason from the National Park Service Williamsport Preservation Training Center. Dominic goes through the steps required in historic preservation masonry. He includes techniques for working with both bricks and stone.

Ecosystem Videos

Cornerstone - Geology And Ecosystems
20 min., 1995

For 4.5 billion years, geologic forces have shaped the Earth. Complex processes influencing the composition, shape, and chemistry of landforms were critical in establishing how and where the Earth's vast collection of plants and animals live.

Forest Service lands hold within them a rich array of components from the broad building blocks of the landscape to the tiniest organisms that live within the soils. The rich diversity among the collection of ecosystems - where organisms are interdependent and interactive with one another.

This program explores the relationship between geology and ecosystems. Since all organisms within an ecosystem respond not only to one another, but also to the non-living environment, Forest Service professionals must include an analysis of geology to fully understand natural systems. Geology is the cornerstone of all ecosystems.

The Douglas Hill Incident -- Putting Fire Back Into The Ecosystem
12 min., 1994

Forest Service Ranger Bob Thompson and Fire Management Specialist Ron Hvizdak describe how prescribed burning can not only rejuvenate vegetation but can also help reduce the effects of wildfire. Also a local citizen describes how her perspective on prescribed burning was dramatically changed when the Douglas hill fire erupted and threatened a number of homes.

Greater Yellowstone Area: A Quest For Balance
10 min., 1991

This program explains the origins of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding National Forests and how current issues have evolved from the different mandates for management.

Fire Videos

Wildfire - Preventing Home Ignitions

19 Min., January 2002

This program tells you how a wildfire can ignite your home. A "home ignition zone," the area that includes a home and its immediate surroundings, determines a home's ignition resistance during a severe wildfire.

You will learn: How the combustion process causes home ignitions; How some homes are destroyed while others survive; How hour most effective home protection efforts occur with the "home ignition zone."

This program is a product of Jack Cohen's research at the Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT.

Rocky Mountain Research Station and Firewise Communities

Linked in two .MOV files: Video 1 | Video 2

Mann Gulch: The Wrath of Nature

August 5th, 1949.  It's a broiling hot day across Montana.  The thermometer in Helena reads 97 degrees.  But it's even hotter in Mann Gulch - a funnel-shaped canyon that adjoins the Missouri River 20 miles north of Helena.  In the afternoon, a fire is reported on the south ridge of Mann Gulch and 16 smokejumpers take off from Missoula and fly 120 miles east to the jump site.  One smokejumper becomes ill on the bumpy flight and remains on the plane.  The remaining 15 jumpers hook onto the jump line and hurl themselves into the wrath of nature.  That day, 13 young men would lose a desperate race with an unpredictable fire.  This program describes the events of that fateful day over 50 years ago.

The Douglas Hill Incident -- Putting Fire Back Into The Ecosystem
12 min., 1994

Forest Service Ranger Bob Thompson and Fire Management Specialist Ron Hvizdak describe how prescribed burning can not only rejuvenate vegetation but can also help reduce the effects of wildfire. Also a local citizen describes how her perspective on prescribed burning was dramatically changed when the Douglas Hill fire erupted and threatened a number of homes. (Same video as in Ecosystem category.)

After The Flames & A Year Later
20 min., 1989

This video discusses the aftermath of 1988 - the year of fire in Greater Yellowstone. It focuses on the questions of what caused the fires of 1988, how much of the Greater Yellowstone Area really did burn, and what is being done to recover the burned areas. It goes on to detail the progress and direction of recovery a year after the flames.

General Videos

Explore the Northern Region
Closed-Captioned, 12 minutes

The Northern Region is home to a variety of wildlife and an abundance of natural resources. The region’s many ranger stations and visitor centers tell the story of a diverse and unique western landscape. For more than one hundred years the Northern Region has offered its visitors the opportunity to escape the crowds of the city and encounter nature at its best – to experience the solitude, the breathtaking beauty and the challenges of our wild lands. Come explore the Northern Region.

2008 Capitol Christmas Tree
5.30 min., 2008

This short video portrays the journey of the Capitol Christmas tree from Montana to Washington D.C. It highlights the special events and people who made this project such a success.

The official 2008 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree ballad, "Heart of Montana" was written and performed by Jack Gladstone, a Native "Poet Singer" and lecturer from the Blackfeet Indian National of Montana.

Please e-mail Christine Romero to order your copy at christineromero@fs.fed.us.

The official lighting ceremony took place December 2, 2008.  Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi flipped the switch with the help from Chris Gabrielsen, a Havre, Montana student who won the trip to light the tree.

A sub-alpine was selected, cut and hauled to Washington, D.C. along with more than five-thousand hand-made ornaments. Students and artists donated the ornaments reflecting the theme, " Sharing Montana's Treasures". Along with the Christmas tree, more than 70 smaller companion trees were taken to Washington, D.C. to be displayed in congressional offices and other office buildings.

The success of this project was made possible through the generous support by dozens of partners, sponsors and volunteers. A complete list of sponsors is located on the inside jacket of this DVD.

Myrtle Creek Healthy Forests Restoration Project
10 minutes

Since 1928, Myrtle Creek has been the primary drinking water source for the city of Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

In September 2003, a wildfire burned about 3,400 acres in the Myrtle Creek watershed, prompting local officials to approach the Forest Service with a proposal to protect their drinking water.

This video tells the story of Myrtle Creek from the residents who rely on this watershed as their sole source of drinking water. In this video, residents describe how the Myrtle Creek Fire sparked to life and the devastating effects it left in the watershed that prompted residents to take action to protect their drinking water from future fires.

Images Of A National Forest
26 min., 1988

In the Forest Service there are many different types of people doing many different kinds of jobs: Forest Supervisor, District Ranger, forester, hydrologist, fisheries biologist, wildlife biologist, range conservationist, geologist, archaeologist, and recreation specialist. This video looks at the multiple uses of a National Forest by the Forest Service people who do the work.

History Videos

Our First Century - Nez Perce National Forest 1908-2008
27 Minutes, closed-captioned

Straddling the distance between Oregon on the west and Montana on the east is the Nez Perce National Forest.

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt's valiant and visionary actions resulted in one of the most lasting and significant contributions to the United States -- the creation of the National Forest Reserves. Gifford Pinchot established the Forest Service on July 1, 1905 and two years later, the old 'forest reserves' were renamed 'national forests'.

In 1908, President Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the Nez Perce National Forest. This is the story about the Nez Perce National Forest. A forest rich with history and culture told by the people who call this diverse landscape their home.

Digging Up History: The Story of the Cypress Stump Discovery
7 minutes, 2008

This story begins approximately 60-million years ago when the rugged Badlands were once swampy lowlands – when turtles and crocodiles roamed the land, instead of bison and cattle.

In the summer of 2002, during a paleontological dig near Watford City for a prized crocodile fossil, a petrified cypress tree stump was unintentionally unearthed on the Little Missouri National Grassland. Since its discovery, many partnerships were formed to transport and display the fossilized tree stump in the Long X Trading Post Visitor’s Center in Watford City, ND.

This success story was made possible through many partnerships and the hard work of the USDA Forest Service, North Dakota Geological Survey, McKenzie County Road and Bridge, Watford City Engineer, McKenzie County Economic Development Coordinator, Iron Horse Machine, and the City of Watford City. Visitors can now relive the past by watching this video and viewing the fossilized cypress tree stump for themselves.

A Century Of Service: Mule Pack Trains

6 min., 1990

Horses and mules have been linked with the Forest Service since its earliest days. This video follows their history with the Forest Service and focuses on the Northern Region mule pack train.

The Elkhorn Mountains: A Range of Reflections
29 minutes, 2005

It's an island mountain range in southwest Montana unlike any other in the state. Surrounded by highways that fade into the Boulder Valley to the south, the Elkhorn Mountains invite outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy its beauty.

A trip into the Elkhorns takes you back in time to a place once rich with mining, trapping and management controversies that began 100 years ago.

Those who know the story of Elkhorns are the men and women who made this rich and diverse landscape their home.

The Forest Service dedicates this video to those people and Theodore Roosevelt's proclamation of the Elkhorn Mountains as a Forest Reserve.

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Historical Films

The footage on these DVD's was originally taken on 16mm film and has been converted to DVD in 2009.

Clearwater Log Drives

Disk 1: Log Drive - Clearwater River - 19 min., 1938 (Historical)
The Clearwater River Log Drive began in north central Idaho in 1928 and continued, with few interruptions, until 1971. During that period of time there were 40 log drives. This program gives an entertaining description of early log drives and the last drive on the Clearwater River in Idaho.

Disk 2: Flume Logging - Clearwater River, 9 min. 1938 (Historical)
This video highlights the early years of the Clearwater Log Drive (1928-1971) when flumes transported logs from the woods to the bank of the river throughout the logging season. Tree lengths were skidded to this flume landing and the "bucked' by sawyers into saw logs. Men then rolled the logs into the flume. Water would be released from flume dams as needed to float the logs to the river. The original length of this particular flume was about eight miles.

Historic Log Drives
23 minutes

The footage on this DVD was originally taken on 16mm film. This 23 minutes video highlights historic log drives in the Northern Region of the Forest Service.  Video includes music.

Pinchot
22 minutes

Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), American conservationist and public official, was chiefly responsible for introducing scientific forestry to the United States.  He is considered the founding father of the U.S. Forest Service and served as the first Chief of the Forest Service from 1905-1910.

The original footage on this DVD was taken on 16mm film.  It was converted to DVD in 2009.  This video gives an entertaining look into Gifford Pinchot’s life and influence in the U.S. Forest Service. 

This 22 minute video contains two, 11 minute versions of the same video.  One version of the film is silent, the other contains audio narration.  The version with sound directly follows the silent film.

Natural Resources Videos

12 Min. 2000 Closed-Captioned

In the Rocky Mountain West, one of our most important tree species is fading from the landscape. Quaking Aspen once covered almost nine million acres, now they cover less than four million acres. This program describes the unique biology of Aspen and how it is tied to its decline. For every acre of Aspen lost, so is a prime source of water, productive habitat for wildlife, a valuable source of livestock forage, and one of our most scenic treasures.

Biological Control Of Leafy Spurge
25 min. 1998

It started innocently. During the late 1800's, thousands of immigrants from northern Europe flooded into the Midwest and areas of southern Canada. Mixed in with the grain seed they brought with them were the seeds of leafy spurge. With no natural enemies, leafy spurge quickly established and dominated vast areas. One of the most effective weapons to combat this enormous problem is a small insect called a flea beetle. This program shows how to apply a systematic approach for inventorying, collecting, releasing, and monitoring flea beetles.

Monitoring Methods for Knapweed

17 min., 2000

Knapweed has rapidly spread over a large portion of the Western United States during the past 80 years. Biological control in the form of insects that specifically attack knapweed is an important part of controlling this noxious weed. This video describes monitoring methods for both root feeding and seed head feeding insects that have been released for biological control of knapweed. The viewer will learn how to monitor for these insects using easy and effective techniques. Using a consistent monitoring approach allows us to determine if the insect is established, is spreading from the original point of release, and is having an impact on the knapweed.

Gypsy Moth: The Way West

A comprehensive video exploring the moth's historical background, the problem it creates, and its present migration westward. A host of possible solutions are discussed in a video made to elevate public awareness and prompt early detection of the pest.

Fishing Holes / Watering Holes
12:30 min., 1988

This program deals with riparian areas - those areas of streams, rivers, lakes, and bogs which are crucial in the West for fishing holes and watering holes for livestock. It defines riparian systems, showing both good and bad examples, and describes how one National Forest is managing riparian areas for both uses.

Restoring The Waters
11 min., 1998

There are thousands of abandoned mines in the National Forests of Montana. They are remnants of the mining heydays that produced wealth and jobs for 100 years. But it came at a cost. The spoils from these mines contain hazardous metals that have a detrimental effect on Montana waters. Aquatic life cannot survive in waters with high levels of heavy metals. This program explains how a new approach is being used to deal with this old problem. Instead of looking at mine spoils on a case-by-case basis, land managers are using a watershed approach. This means identifying the problem, setting priorities, and sharing resources to make mine waste cleanup more logical, efficient, and economical.

Recreation Videos

Beartooth Highway
20 min. 1992 Closed-Captioned

The Beartooth Highway runs 69 miles, from Red Lodge to Cooke City, Montana and then to the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It's a road so spectacular that CBS's Charles Kuralt has called it America's "most beautiful roadway". The video illustrates the highway's use by the traveler, exploring recreational opportunities along the way, as well as providing glimpses of the vast and varied scenery.

A Force of Nature – Hebgen Lake Earthquake
15 min. 2001 Closed-Captioned

On August 17, 1959, one of nature's most powerful forces was unleashed in the Madison Canyon, just outside the border of Yellowstone National Park. The canyon was packed with people, cars, tents, and trailers. At just before midnight a massive earthquake shook the canyon and in a few seconds, changed the land and the people forever. The Madison River Canyon Earthquake area provides a vivid reminder of how the landscape and the people were suddenly changed on that August night. This video tells the story of the Hebgen Lake Earthquake.

Hells Canyon ... A Work In Progress
16:30 min. 1993 Closed-Captioned

The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area was established in 1975. The forces of nature have worked for millions of years to etch this canyon -- the deepest river gorge in North America. As the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area approaches, the Forest Service takes this opportunity to assess its progress in meeting both the mandates set by Congress and the needs of Americans today and in the future.

Kings Hill Scenic Byway

A 71-mile stretch of US Highway 89, the Kings Hill Scenic Byway winds its way across the wide-open land of central Montana, the spirit of America's West. This is not a super highway, but a road that's off the beaten track. Passing through the Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Little Belt Mountains, the Kings Hill Scenic Byway allows travelers to slow down a bit to get a taste of the real west.

Avalanche!
17:30 min. 1987

This production explains the essentials of snow safety for downhill skiers, cross-country skiers, and snowmobilers.

Wildlife Videos

Mustangs On the Mountain
14 min. 1997

This program is about the mustangs of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. For generations, a herd of mustangs has survived in this harsh landscape. They are one of the most unique bands of wild horses in existence. Their distinctive markings -- the solitary stripe down the back and tiger-like slashes on the legs -- are signs of primitive ancestry. Some believe they carry the blood of Spanish horses that date back to 400 years ago. This is a story of how the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range came to be, and of the efforts needed to preserve this symbol of the American West.