The Green Fire Story
“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949
The impact of his own gunshot from a rimrock in Arizona changed Aldo Leopold’s own thinking, leading to the key insight that was the culmination of his life’s work: a responsibility for its health. Join us as we trace Leopold’s personal journey and follow the threads that connect to his legacy today.
The Green Fire Film Project
The Aldo Leopold Foundation is working with US Forest Service filmmakers Steve Dunsky and Dave Steinke to produce the hour-long Green Fire: The Life and Legacy of Aldo Leopold. Leopold biographer and conservation biologist Dr. Curt Meine will serve as the film's on-screen guide. The film provocatively examines Leopold’s thinking, renewing his idea of a land ethic for a population facing 21st century ecological challenges.
Green Fire describes the formation of Leopold’s idea, exploring how it changed one man and later permeated through all arenas of conservation. The film draws on Leopold’s life and experiences to provide context and validity, then explores the deep impact of his thinking on conservation projects around the world today. Through these examples, the film challenges viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land community.
The high-definition film will utilize photographs, correspondence, manuscripts and other archival documents from the voluminous Aldo Leopold Archives as well as historical film and contemporary full-color footage on location, including landscapes that influenced Leopold and that he in turn influenced.
The film will also feature commentary and insight from some of today’s most recognized and credible scholars and conservation leaders, including: Aldo Leopold’s three living children—Nina, Carl, and Estella, Leopold scholars, noted environmental writers, scientists, humanities experts, public policy leaders, business leaders,; and leaders of non-profit groups inspired by Leopold.
Meet the Team
Green Fire is being produced by the Aldo Leopold Foundation with major support from the US Forest Service.
Dr. Curt Meine, On-Screen Guide
Curt is a conservation biologist and writer based in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and History from DePaul University in Chicago and his graduate degrees in Land Resources from the Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His doctoral dissertation was a biography of Aldo Leopold, published as Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (University of Wisconsin Press, 1988). Curt currently serves as senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, as a director with the Center for Humans and Nature, and as research associate with the International Crane Foundation. He is also active locally as a founding member of the Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance in Sauk County, Wisconsin.
Steven Dunsky, Director
Steve has been a writer/producer/director with the U.S. Forest Service for the past 15 years. He collaborates with his wife, Ann, who works for the agency as an editor. Their productions are shown in visitor centers from Washington, D.C., to Washington state and from Alaska to Indonesia. Several of their programs have been presented on public and cable television, and the pair has won several awards for their work.
David Steinke, Director
Dave is currently assistant director for public affairs in the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region. A 26-year veteran of the agency, Steinke runs the Region’s Creative Services Department, which produces videotapes, presentations, exhibits and Web content and oversees some training and meeting facilitation. Steinke also has been involved with fire for his entire Forest Service career and is currently qualified as a fire photographer and Type I Incident Information Officer, a position in which he provides information officer training.
Green Fire Today
Green Fire features the work of many individuals and organizations who have interpreted Aldo Leopold's ideas in diverse ways, incorporating them into their own work today. As Leopold himself realized, he could never fully articulate what he conceived of as a "land ethic" because "nothing so important as an ethic is ever written... it evolves in the minds of the thinking community." Visit some of the people and projects that may appear in the film:
Peter Forbes and the Center for Whole Communities
George Archibald and the International Crane Foundation
Wes Jackson and The Land Institute
Courtney White and the Quivira Coalition
and many, many more.