Download a photo of a peregrine falcon.
Download a photo of Natalie Warren paddling.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — The Prairie Sportsman crew paddles the Minnesota River with Natalie Warren, one of the first women to canoe 2,000 miles from Fort Snelling to Hudson Bay, then climbs atop a Mayo Clinic building to see peregrine falcons that were brought back from extinction in the Upper Midwest. In Woodbury, a living fence between four backyards prevents polluted stormwater runoff.
“Paddling and Peregrines” will air on Pioneer PBS Sunday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m.; on WDSE Saturday, February 15 at 4 p.m.; on tptLife Saturday, February 29 at 12:30 p.m.; and on Lakeland PBS Saturday, April 11 at 2:30 p.m. It will also be broadcast on the Minnesota Channel, which airs on all Minnesota PBS stations, on Thursday, March 5 at midnight, 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.
In 2011, Natalie Warren and Anne Raiho were the first two women to paddle 2,000 miles from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, following the route immortalized by Eric Sevareid in his book “Canoeing with the Cree.” Prairie Sportsman’s crew canoed with Natalie on a section of this journey near Mankato to see why canoers and kayakers like to explore the Minnesota despite its muddy reputation.
In the next segment, the Prairie Sportsman crew is at the top of a Mayo Clinic building to film the banding of Blizzard, a peregrine falcon chick that is being tracked by the Midwest Peregrine Society. Prior to World War II, 40 to 50 pairs of peregrines nested in the Mississippi and St. Croix River valleys. Within 20 years after the war, they all disappeared because of DDT. The pesticide was banned in 1972 and in the early 1980s, U of M Raptor Center founder Patrick Redig and the DNR’s first Nongame Wildlife Program Director Carrol Henderson led Minnesota’s efforts to successfully reintroduce peregrine falcons to their original nesting areas.
The final segment features a backyard innovation called a living fence, a mixture of plants and trees. The state’s first living fence was planted along four adjoining yards in Woodbury’s Twenty-One Oaks development, and the cost was shared between neighbors and South Washington Watershed District. The native plants’ deep roots trap stormwater runoff and prevent phosphorus and other pollutants from running into waterways.
About Prairie Sportsman
Prairie Sportsman celebrates our love of the outdoors – to hunt, fish and enjoy recreation provided by our vast resources of lakes, rivers, trails and grasslands – while promoting environmental stewardship.
Prairie Sportsman’s team includes Cindy Dorn, producer/writer; Bret Amundson, host/assistant producer; Dylan Curfman, editor/videographer and Max Grabow, assistant videographer/editor. The 2020 season is made possible by funding from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, SafeBasements of Minnesota, GrandStay Hospitality, Diamond Willow, Live Wide Open and Western Minnesota Prairie Waters.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit www.pioneer.org.
