River of No Return Wilderness Film

Join Discover Your Forest and the Deschutes National Forest for an evening celebrating Wilderness!

US Fish & Wildlife Wolf Coordinator, John Stephenson, will discuss wolves in Oregon and their connection with the wolves in the Frank Church Wilderness in the film.

The Film, River of No Return, is set deep in the heart of Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, part of the largest roadless area left in the lower 48 states. At 2.5 million acres, it is larger than Yellowstone, yet most people have never even heard of it. Designated a federally-protected wilderness in 1980 by Congress, the region is full of deep canyons and mountain forests, rivers and abundant wildlife. Otters and elk, deer and coyotes, blue birds and bighorn sheep, and newly-restored wolf populations all thrive there. Today, nine packs of wolves roam freely through the park, each pack dependent on family – raising their young and hunting together.

Working with the Nez Perce Tribe in Central Idaho, wolf biologist Isaac Babcock spent 13 years participating in the wolf reintroduction program organized in the area. Wanting to share the raw beauty of the land and the wolves with his new wife, Bjornen, Isaac proposes spending a year there as an unconventional honeymoon, documenting their days as they go along. River of No Return tells their story, the story of a couple that took on the wilderness and all its challenges. The two have come to treasure their experience in an untamed place that, for a period of time, they called home.

$3 at the door goes towards Discover Your Forest.

Background:
The Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 3, 1964 after having passed through Congress with bipartisan support. The original Act created approximately 9 million acres of Wilderness in 13 states. Since its passing, 109,511,966 acres have been designated as Wilderness in 44 states and Puerto Rico.