Braided River Programs
Large-format photography books are at the center of each Braided River campaign. We work with some of the most talented wildlife photographers in the field today to tell the stories of the last remaining wild lands in western North America. Paired with essays and insights from talented writers, scientists, poets, and politicians, the images transport readers into nature. These photography books are published under the Braided River imprint of The Mountaineers Books.
With the help of partners like Seattle's Burke Museum, we turn our books into traveling photography exhibits. These exhibits feature images, maps and stories from our books, and travel across the country to places like The World Forestry Center in Portland, OR, and The Wildlife Experience in Parker, CO.
To reach broader audiences, our photographers give multimedia presentations and media interviews. Presentations help us to reach broad audiences with personal stories of photographers' adventures in nature. Through print and digital media we are able to reach audiences outside the conservation core.
An essential part of our work is to build partnerships with conservation organizations and foundations that are working to affect policy that will protect wild lands. Our books, exhibits and media outreach serve as communication tools used to communicate with political and thought leaders. Through these ongoing partnerships, we inspire action that will protect precious wild places for many years to come.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest is a communication and media platform designed to increase awareness of the ecological importance of Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, and to inspire people to take action to protect it. The award-winning photography book, by acclaimed photojournalist Amy Gulick,examines the relationships between trees, salmon, and all life in the Tongass.
In the summer and fall of 2011, a traveling photography exhibit based on the book was displayed in five communities in Southeast Alaska, at the heart of the Tongass National Forest. Braided River partnered with the US Forest Service, The National Forest Foundation, Alaska Wilderness League, and numerous community partners to promote the exhibit. The town of Wrangell, AK was one of the host towns in the summer of 2011, and invited Braided River and Amy Gulick to install a permanent Salmon in the Trees exhibit in spring 2012. The exhibit will be installed in Wrangell's community center in time for the busy summer tourist season.
To The Arctic, with photographer Florian Schulz, is the official companion book to the IMAX film To The Arctic. Published by Braided River in November 2011, To The Arctic, provides an unprecedented opportunity for large-scale partnerships. Braided River has partnered closely with the producers of the film, MacGillivray Freeman Films, IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures, to produce a campaign that will greatly increase awareness about the changing Arctic landscape.
In 2012 and beyond, we will work with conservation partners and Florian Schulz as they work to protect the Arctic. Schulz will give multimedia presentations to increase awareness about the dangers facing the Arctic due to global warming and unsustainable human consumption. Exhibits of Schulz's photographs will be placed in museums, zoos, and theaters that will show the film To The Arctic.