Under the Wire
In Wyoming’s North Platte River Valley, miles of fencing can stand in the path of migrating pronghorn. Under the Wire follows the ranchers and conservationists working together to make those fences safer and protect the wildlife that call this remarkable landscape home.
about the film
Pronghorn are endemic to North America and make their home in the high plains and vast sagebrush sea of the American West, and like many ungulate species, their survival relies on the ability to roam freely. They need to be able to migrate across large tracts of ground to avoid bad weather and find food. The North Platte River Valley along the Colorado-Wyoming border is rich with wildlife diversity held mostly in private ownership. The rangelands in this area stewarded by ranchers make ideal habitat for pronghorn and other wildlife species. However, the miles of fences used to keep cattle in pastures are often barriers to the pronghorn and other wildlife’s movements.
This is a story about a community of people working together to improve ranch fence lines, so pronghorn and other wildlife can move freely. It celebrates the wildlife that call the North Platte River Valley home and the people who live and work on this land to protect these animals for generations to come.
Under the Wire is brought to you by Platte Basin Timelapse and award-winning filmmaker, Mariah Lundgren.
In-person and virtual screenings are available for classroom, campus, at-home, and community screenings. total runtime: 28 minutes
available resources
Watch Party Guide • Educational Resource Guide • Community Engagement + Discussion Guide • Designing for Coexistence: An Interdisciplinary Educational Resource for Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Students
for educators
Bring the Great Plains into the Classroom
At just 28 minutes, Under the Wire fits easily into a class period and brings the wildlife and landscapes of the Great Plains into classrooms across the country. For urban students, it offers an engaging introduction to a region and conservation challenges they may not otherwise encounter.
professional development · standards aligned · cross-curricular · adaptable for science, engineering, social studies, ELA, and career and technical education
Too often, educators find it difficult to collaborate across different subject areas. Listen Out Loud Media’s Under the Wire Watch Guide made it seamless for our engineering, architecture, history and even music teachers to do a cross-curricular project with real outcomes.
— Jonas Strickland, Librarian
Phelps ACE High School (D.C.)
the team
Director
Mariah Lundgren
Graphic Designer
Animator
Sidney Parks
Editor
Mariah Lundgren
Grant Reiner
Additional Cinematography
Mariah Lundgren
Ethan Freese
Michael Forsberg
Carlee Moates
Cinematographer
Grant Reiner
Camera Trap Footage
Michael Forsberg
Burk Knowlton
Benjy Duke
Haub School of ENR – University of Wyoming
Photographer
Michael Forsberg
