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CEC to share ‘One in a Vermillion’ video with policy makers

Brian Smith

'One in a Vermillion'

Watch the video "One in a Vermillion" by clicking here.

Luke Schafer, Colorado Environmental Coalition northwest campaign coordinator, said the message of the video “One in a Vermillion” is basic.

“Vermillion Basin is a phenomenal place, and we in America need wild places like (it),” he said. “One of our purposes should be to make sure that our kids have a little bit of what we have had.

“If nothing else, surely we can save this one place for posterity’s sake.”



Schafer’s message is echoed throughout the eight-minute video, albeit re-told through the words of several members of the Friends of Northwest Colorado.

“One in a Vermillion” serves a dual purpose — to celebrate the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to close the 77,000-acre basin, located in western Moffat County, to energy development and to share the thoughts of those advocating for its preservation, Schafer said.



The video, which is Schafer’s brainchild, features interviews with several Moffat County residents and was produced by the CEC and The Wilderness Society.

Schafer said the video took about a year-and-a-half to write, shoot, produce and edit. It was released on the web in late June.

The video features still photography as well as video of the basin, and interviews with residents.

“The purpose of it is to really provide a view of what Vermillion Basin is for those that haven’t had a chance to visit it and make sure it is described from the words of the people that live here — the folks that know it best,” Schafer said.

Since being released, the video has experienced a healthy viewing on several video-hosting sites and http://www.savevermillion.org, CEC northwest organizer Sasha Nelson said.

Building on the video’s web success, Nelson said CEC is in the process of producing DVD copies of the video to release to major media outlets and put in the hands of “decision makers.”

The CEC is also planning local screenings of the video for the first part of next year, she said.

“The hard work went into making it, now it comes down to sharing it and trying to have as many folks see it as possible,” Nelson said.

Nelson thinks getting the video to those “decision makers” will help in making future decisions about keeping Vermillion untouched, she said.

“There tends to be a little bit of misunderstanding of what is actually in Vermillion,” she said. “There were some factual errors made in (Washington) D.C. that have kind of perpetuated themselves. So, we thought it would be helpful for people who might not visit our website to actually receive copies of the video.”

Schafer said the group is trying to “fully realize” the potential of the project by getting the video into the hands of those that “need it.”

Nelson thinks the video became more powerful with the message being told by those who are “not just paid environmentalists wanting to protect this landscape, but … real folks, with real jobs, with real lives here in the valley.”

One of those “real folks” appearing in the video is Moffat County resident Rick Hammel.

Hammel said he is “just a conservationist” wanting to help save Vermillion Basin from energy development.

“I just feel that oil and gas has gone too far,” he said. “I think that we should have some stuff left open and not developed. I think Vermillion is a classic example (of that).”

Hammel said he was pleased with how the video came out and said its message should be clear to viewers — some places need protecting.

“I think it is the best place around,” he said of Vermillion.

Schafer agreed.

“There are so few wonders left that I think challenge people’s conceptions of their own lives, and Vermillion Basin offers that opportunity,” he said.

By putting the video on DVD and distributing it, Schafer hopes the “One in a Vermillion” message resonates from Moffat County outward.


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