Evening at Egan: “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time”

An audience discussion with U.S. Forest Service filmmaker Steve Dunsky and Alaska Regional Forester Beth Pendleton follows the 73-minute film, which tells the story of Leopold’s life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation in the twentieth century and still inspires people today.

Juneau, Alaska

Date of Press Release: September 26, 2011

The Evening at Egan lecture series continues this Friday, Sept 30 at 7 pm in the Egan Lecture Hall, with the film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time. An audience discussion with U.S. Forest Service filmmaker Steve Dunsky and Alaska Regional Forester Beth Pendleton follows the 73-minute film. Green Fire tells the story of Leopold’s life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation in the twentieth century and still inspires people today.  Although probably best known as the author of the conservation classic A Sand County Almanac, Leopold is also renowned for his work as an educator, philosopher, forester, ecologist, and wilderness advocate. The film is a production of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Center for Humans and Nature.

Steven Dunsky Producer/Director, U.S. Forest Service

Steve Dunsky has been making films for twenty-five years, primarily for the U.S. Forest Service. He and his wife Ann have worked for the California region of the Forest Service for the past twenty years.  Together, they have written, produced and edited dozens of projects on a wide range of conservation topics.  Their work has taken them from Argentina to Alaska, and their programs are shown in visitor centers, on television and in environmental film festivals. With their Forest Service colleague Dave Steinke, they produced The Greatest Good, the awarding centennial history of the Forest Service. Steve attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television where he earned an MFA in film production.

Beth Pendleton has been the Alaska Regional Forester since March 2010. As Regional Forester, Pendleton oversees management of more than 22 million acres of National Forest System lands in Southcentral and Southeast Alaska. She works closely with the region’s diverse stakeholders and communities of interest, especially on issues related to forest restoration and strengthening rural community health. Pendleton has worked in natural resources, coast-to-coast, for more than 25 years. She holds a bachelor’s in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont, a master’s in wildlife and fisheries from South Dakota State University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Wyoming. She is also a graduate of Harvard’s Senior Executive Fellows Program and American University’s Key Leadership program.