Braided River

WE INSPIRE PEOPLE TO PROTECT WILD PLACES THROUGH IMAGES AND STORIES THAT CHANGE PERSPECTIVES. WESTERN NORTH AMERICA'S PUBLIC LANDS ARE UNDER THREAT. USING THE POWER OF BEAUTIFUL IMAGES, WE PUBLISH PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS AND CREATE MULTIMEDIA ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THESE CRITICAL ECOSYSTEMS. WE WORK IN CONCERT WITH CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHERS, WRITERS, GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES TO BUILD GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS.

FREEDOM TO ROAM: CALIFORNIA PROJECT - FUNDS FOR THIS PROJECT HAVE GONE TOWARDS THE LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT OF THE BLUE-CHIP NATURE DOCUMENTARY "FREEDOM TO ROAM" (WORKING TITLE). BASED ON BRAIDED RIVER BOOK WITH FLORIAN SCHULZ, THE WILD EDGE AND OTHER FREEDOM TO ROAM ASSETS, THIS FILM PROJECT IS CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH ALLEN PREGER AND THE MARGOT MACDOUGALL FAMILY FOUNDATION. GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE TO EDUCATE ABOUT THE PACIFIC COAST'S MAJOR MARINE CORRIDOR FROM BAJA, CALIFORNIA TO BEAUFORT, ALASKA AND TO INFLUENCE BEHAVIORS AND POLICIES THAT MAINTAIN BIOLOGICAL HOTSPOTS CORE TO INTERCONNECTED WILDLIFE CORRIDORS INTACT AND HEALTHY. POSITIVELY IMPACTS THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BOTH WILDLIFE AND HUMAN COMMUNITIES.

OTHER PROGRAMS - (1) BOOK DEVELOPMENT OF BIG RIVER: RESILIENCE AND RENEWAL IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN - A BOOK AND VISUAL STORYTELLING CAMPAIGN THAT WILL ILLUMINATE THE BEAUTIFUL AND COMPLICATED COLUMBIA RIVER WATERSHED, FROM SEA TO SOURCE. WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT THE BOOK'S FIELDWORK, EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND LAYOUT WERE COMPLETED IN 2023 ON SCHEDULE. THE BOOK WAS DELIVERED TO THE PRINTER IN JANUARY 2024, WITH A PUBLICATION DATE OF JUNE 1, 2024. (2) IN 2023 BRAIDED RIVER SUPPORTED THE WE ARE PUGET SOUND AND ORCA TRAVELING MUSEUM EXHIBITS, WHICH WERE VIEWED BY MORE THAN 40,000 PEOPLE COLLECTIVELY AT MAJOR CULTURAL AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTERS ACROSS WASHINGTON STATE, INCLUDING THE BURKE MUSEUM IN SEATTLE.

LIVING RIVER - THIS BOOK AND VISUAL CAMPAIGN RELEASED IN APRIL 2023 HAS BEEN EDUCATING ABOUT THE IMPERILED COLORADO RIVER WATERSHED. TO DATE, THE AUTHOR DAVE SHOWALTER HAS PRESENTED AT 19 IN-PERSON AND DIGITAL EVENTS AS A PART OF THE LIVING RIVER EVENTS SERIES, REACHING A TOTAL OF 4105 PEOPLE IN PERSON IN COLORADO, ARIZONA, NEVADA, UTAH, WYOMING, AND CALIFORNIA. LARGEST IN-PERSON SPEAKING EVENT WAS 380-PERSON AUDIENCE AT DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE IN THEIR IMAX THEATER, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUDUBON ROCKIES. THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS, WITH A CONSERVATIVE TEN MILLION IMPRESSIONS, REACHING ACROSS THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKETS IN PRINT, RADIO INTERVIEWS, AND AT LEAST 92 TELEVISION SPOTS IN REGIONAL MARKETS FROM ANCHORAGE TO ALBUQUERQUE. THE BOOK HAD NATIONAL AUDIENCE REACH IN THE NATURAL HISTORY AND LITERARY SPACE, WITH PROMINENT FEATURES IN NBC AND AFFILIATE STATIONS, ORION, NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE, AND TERRAIN.ORG. LIVING RIVER WAS AWARDED THE NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD FOR NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AND ALSO WAS NAMED ONE OF KIRKUS REVIEWS' 100 BEST INDIE BOOKS OF 2023.

AMERICA'S ARCTIC - BRAIDED RIVER IS A MEDIA PARTNER ALONGSIDE A COALITION OF NATIONAL CONSERVATION AND INDIGENOUS NONPROFITS SUPPORTING SCIENCE AND CULTURAL EDUCATION AROUND THE ALASKAN ARCTIC. WE ARE SUPPORTING THE IMPACT CAMPAIGN FOR AN EDUCATIONAL GIANT SCREEN FILM CALLED THE ARCTIC: OUR LAST GREAT WILDERNESS, WHICH HAS BEEN MANY YEARS IN THE MAKING. THE FILM HAS BEEN SHOWN AT MORE THAN 15 THEATERS AT MAJOR SCIENCE CENTERS, FOR MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE, INCLUDING SEVERAL THOUSAND SCHOOL GROUPS, AND EDUCATORS. WE HAVE ALSO SUPPORTED FILM AND STORYTELLING EFFORTS DIGITALLY, ON A SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEB PLATFORM CALLED PROTECT THE ARCTIC, WHICH HAS MORE THAN 70,000 FOLLOWERS.