Behind the Stories
Working Extremes
By Kris Millgate/Outdoor Idaho ProducerMay 10, 2012
It's 18 degrees below zero outside. The river is slow moving slush. I have ice in my nose. I strap on snowshoes and start the internal to-do list. Keep the camera batteries warm in your armpit. Keep yourself moving to stay warm. Keep your gloves on for functioning fingers. The thoughts rattle around in my head like ice cubes in a cup. A cup I wish was full of something hot.
It's the longest winter I've lived through. It's the coldest winter I've ever worked in, but the result is stunning. It's a picture of frozen perfection on the South Fork of the Snake River as I follow two snowshoers into Idaho's prime winter range for the new Outdoor Idaho show 'Palisades by Season'. Extreme conditions showcase the area as a crystallized queen few ever see once the cold comes.
When winter withers away the nation's symbol of freedom flocks to the Palisades pines for spring nesting. Decades of research are behind the banded bald eagles in the district. I watch in awe as an eaglet is carefully handled while the parents persist with their rantings over our head.
The bald eagles are here for fish. So are the fisherman and summer is high season for fin flipping. The main vein of the Palisades Ranger District is the South Fork of the Snake River. The mainstay in the South Fork is trout. Floating and fishing the river lasts well into the huckleberry season and right on through the fading colors of fall.
The highlight of shooting 'Palisades by Season' is hard to wrap my head around. Is it touching the talons of an eagle? Feeling a fish take my fly? A belly full of fresh picked huckleberries? Maybe it's the honor of having the opportunity to enjoy all of those things while I work. I'd venture to say anyone would want to trade places with me. Well, maybe not when I have ice in my nose, but if that's the price for a pretty picture, I'm more than willing to pay.
A Year’s Worth of Outdoor Idaho Shows
By Bruce ReichertApril 13, 2012
Last week my colleagues and I laid out our plans for a full year's worth of Outdoor Idaho shows. It's one of my favorite meetings, and it always occurs in early spring, after the annual pledge drive.
All of our shows are collaborative – meaning each production involves a handful of people working together – but each show has one key person who is the caretaker. And I am so lucky that my talented colleagues still enjoy coming up with stories to share with us.
Joan Cartan-Hansen is producing an Outdoor Idaho show called "The Foothills," to air in June. We have been so intent upon showing viewers far-away places that we've never in 29 years examined the area just above Idaho's largest city. The talented Jay Krajic will be at the controls in the edit bay for this production.
Aaron Kunz, who works part-time with us and part-time with Boise State Public Radio, is producing a program on Idaho's salmon, to air in July. Aaron came to us, thanks to a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He's part of a consortium devoted to providing more environmental stories, and the salmon story is a good one! Our director/editor extraordinaire, Pat Metzler, will assist in the edit bay. Actually, Pat has already assisted by getting some amazing underwater sockeye salmon footage near Redfish Lake.
John Crancer, the lead producer of Outdoor Idaho, has several shows he's working on, including one he's calling "Horse Packers & Wagon Masters," which will air in September. John's health has caused him to cut back his hours indefinitely, but John is a fighter and we're convinced he'll be back in the saddle again, in time to kick out an hour-long special for next year on Idaho's amazing Byways.
Sauni Symonds is finally doing the show we've all talked about for years: a climbing show that will take Outdoor Idaho to the tops of some of the state's storied peaks. This show will air in October.
Marcia Franklin is putting together profiles of elderly Idahoans who still amaze and inspire. Her show, "Never Say Quit," is part of a series we've done over the years and will air in November. She's also working on a show called "Healing and the Outdoors," which looks at groups who utilize Nature in the healing process. That is scheduled to air in May of 2013.
Greg Hahn will cut his teeth on a show he's calling "Rec Tech," about the happy convergence of recreational technology in our state. This is scheduled to air in January of 2013.
Each of these productions has a classy web presence, thanks to Rick Penticoff and Stephanie Dickey.
What is gratifying to me is that all these people I mentioned have other assignments, but they take time out to help keep Outdoor Idaho chugging along into our 30th season.
Speaking of which, that's one of the shows I'll be working on: our 30th Anniversary show, set to air in March of 2013. I'm also excited to explore how the Sawtooth National Recreation Area is doing after 40 years. We'll explore this favorite area of the state in December in an hour long special. And we'll have some fun with "Rock Hounds" in June of 2013. Folks who chase rocks just seem to know things the rest of us don't.
All in all, not a bad lineup for a show that, in dog years, would be pushing 210 years.