Editor's note: Today is the second installment in three days of coverage of the Isle Royale Wolf/Moose Study. The study's 50th anniversary was celebrated over the weekend on the island.
ISLE ROYALE - Documentary filmmaker George Desort met Isle Royale Wolf/Moose Study co-director Rolf Peterson at a campground on Isle Royale when he was part way through a circumnavigation of the island by kayak.
He was sitting at a picnic table with his camera on a tripod.
"I was sitting on a picnic table in the campsite and there were always animals walking through so I kept the camera on the tripod," Desort said.
This was in late October of 2004, a time of year when there are few people on the island.
"A guy walks by and he sees my camera on that tripod and he says 'What are you doing with that camera?'" Desort said.
He knew the guy was Peterson. He had read the wildlife ecologist's 1995 book "The Wolves of Isle Royale - A Broken Balance."
Peterson and study co-director John Vucetich had been looking for a videographer to capture footage of the wolves and moose on Isle Royale for use in marking the 50th anniversary of the study. Desort jumped at their invitation to head out to the island the following summer.
"I planned on staying for 10 to 12 days and I ended up staying for 30," Desort said. "I went out, videoed this (moose) cow all day and I came back nine hours later and I think John and Rolf were like 'This guy just spent nine hours out in the woods filming a moose and he loved every minute of it; this might be our guy."
That is how "Fortunate Wilderness: the Wolf and Moose Study of Isle Royale" got started.
Over the course of three years, Desort spent 120 days filming on the island, in both summer and winter. He spent a lot of time carrying his equipment around the island.
"Being a one-man show, most of the time it was on foot or by kayak," Desort said.
Nearly all of the footage in the movie, from the establishing shots of snow blowing across frozen lakes to the final close-up of Peterson's face framed with the fur ruff of his parka hood, was shot on Isle Royale.
"I want to give the viewer the impression that they're on the island," Desort said.
He also interviewed scientists who have been involved with the wolf/moose study over the course of its history. The pilots who have flown the scientists during winter study are also in the film.
"Fortunate Wilderness" premiered Friday at Rock Harbor Auditorium on Isle Royale as part of the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Isle Royale Wolf/Moose Study. The room was crowded to overflowing for the first show, with a long line of people waiting outside the door for the second show to begin.
A screening of the film is scheduled for Oct. 25 at the Rozsa Center at Michigan Technological University. A Nov. 9 screening is scheduled at Weber Music Hall in Duluth.
Dan Schneider can be reached at dschneider@mininggazette.com