Segment 205

Bison homecoming, tribal languages, peregrine protection, paragliders

State(s) featured in this episode: Iowa/ Minnesota/ Montana/ Oregon

Bison Homecoming: The buffalo are back! One hundred years after Native American Michael Pablo sent his captive bison herd to Canada to help preserve the dwindling species, dozens of their direct descendants were released into the bison herd on the American Prairie Reserve in northern Montana. The World Wildlife Fund has been collaborating with the American Prairie Reserve to help restore the grasslands habitat for the bison, birds, and other important native species that roamed the region when Lewis and Clark arrived in 1805.

Preserving Tribal Languages: The passion of tribal elders and 21st century video technology are merging to bring new life to the Ojibwe language. Using “home movies” that depict everyday scenarios, experts at the University of Minnesota-Duluth are helping new generations learn and appreciate the language and culture.

Peregrine Protection:
Peregrine falcons are making a comeback—in some most unusual places. With help from bird lovers in Iowa, this once nearly extinct raptor has a new place to call home—atop an Iowa skyscraper! Once nearly wiped out by DDT, local falconers and the state Department of Natural Resources helped design a nest box that’s keeping peregrine parents safe and cozy, and helping provide for a healthy new generation.

Soaring with Paragliders: Jumping off a cliff has never been so spectacular! Daredevils in Oregon use thermal currents in a sort of “yacht race in the sky.” 160 pilots joined the “Rat Race” in the intricate sport of paragliding. Their only source of power is the thermal lift from hot air. Even the crew of “Oregon Field Guide” at Oregon Public Broadcasting got in on the act during this breathtaking event.

Related Segments

Segment 905

A pilot project in Minnesota for immigrant families shows how small-scale sustainable farming with poultry and perennial crops can provide extra income with little investment of time.

State(s) featured in this episode: Minnesota
Segment 904

In Iowa, activists use faith to mobilize farmers in a movement to adopt new measures like perennial crops to sequester carbon in their soils, and to get paid for doing it.

State(s) featured in this episode: Iowa
Segment 903

Researchers in Minnesota are developing perennial food crops that could revolutionize American agriculture.

State(s) featured in this episode: Minnesota
Segment 704

The nation’s most important conservation and recreational access program has protected areas in almost every state and county, but it could soon expire without action by Congress.

State(s) featured in this episode: Montana
Segment 804

In Montana, conservationists, landowners, business leaders and government officials consider the importance of the most important yet least-known and understood conservation and access program in the U.S. – the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Farmers in Oklahoma use cover crops and smart pasturing of livestock to reduce their use of chemical fertilizers, improve water quality, and increase their bottom line. Researchers are finding useful purposes for recycled urine.

State(s) featured in this episode: Montana /  Oklahoma
Segment 704

To avoid contributing to the “Dead Zone” far downstream in the Gulf, this Iowa farmer manages his land to keep nutrients in the soil and prevent polluting runoff.

State(s) featured in this episode: Iowa
Segment 704

A farmer in southwestern Iowa has a mission to develop his farm as an example to others, using no-till seeding, multi-crop and pasture rotation, minimal fertilizing, and runoff filtering to keep the nutrients in his soil and prevent runoff. The backlog of deferred maintenance in national parks is a growing problem that needs Congress to act: we see the need for urgent maintenance and repairs at the Grand Canyon, the National Mall, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site in Atlanta. Rafting down the river through the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument.

State(s) featured in this episode: Arizona /  California /  Georgia /  Iowa /  New Mexico /  Washington D.C.
Segment 604

Wild and clear rivers, a rugged landscape, and one of the rarest plants on earth drive conservationists in Oregon to call for protection against looming mining threats.

State(s) featured in this episode: Oregon
Segment 604

In southern Oregon, a little-known wilderness called Kalmiopsis is a source of clear water for downstream communities and a core for surrounding wildlands that conservationists want to protect from and mining. Changes in cropland management in Kansas can make a big difference for the survival of bobwhite quail and other wild species. Gunnison County in Colorado offers stunning mountain scenery, thriving agriculture, and outdoor recreation – and residents there support more wilderness protection for public lands including wilderness and special management areas. Following lead contamination of the water supply in Flint, Michigan, scientists in North Carolina reveal another dangerous chemical making its way through water pipes to thousands of homes.

State(s) featured in this episode: Colorado /  Kansas /  North Carolina /  Oregon