For Immediate Release Bullfrog Films, Maple Lake Releasing and Alliance Atlantis to distribute new feature documentary, Varmints VHS copies are available for review by the press. Digital still images are also available. Contact: Doug Hawes-Davis (406) 543-6726 or Additional information and a short trailer can be viewed on-line at: http://www.highplainsfilms.org/fp_varmint.html ___________________________________________________________________ Bullfrog Films, Maple Lake Releasing and Alliance Atlantis will distribute the first documentary feature from High Plains Films. Varmints, which has been called the "Schindler's List of wildlife documentaries," is marketed to broadcasters worldwide by Alliance Atlantis of Toronto, Canada. Bullfrog Films of Oley, Pennsylvania handles non-theatrical markets. Maple Lake Releasing handles theatrical bookings and home video sales. Varmints, which won a Special Jury Prize for Extraordinary Achievement at the 22nd International Wildlife Film Festival, chronicles the decline of the prairie dog in the American West and highlights the fascinating ecology of the animal. It details the intertwined and conflicting perspectives of cowboy mythology, animal rights, property rights, varmint hunting, ecology and politics. The film includes exclusive footage of varmint shooting, spectacular wildlife footage, and systematic poisoning efforts by federal, state and local agencies including historical U.S. Biological Survey footage (ca. 1915), collected from the National Archives. Pound for pound, the prairie dog has generated more controversy in the inner-mountain West than almost any other animal. Some say that the prairie dog competes directly with cows for forage and is an agricultural pest that must be eradicated. Others argue that the prairie dog is an essential component of the prairie ecosystem and that dramatic decline in population and loss of habitat qualify the prairie dog for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Overall, prairie dogs have been reduced through human activities to less than 2% of their historic range. But without federal or state protection, their decline continues. Urban development, varmint hunting, poisoning and plague all contribute to the prairie dog's uncertain future in the grasslands of the West. Since 1992, Missoula, Montana-based non-profit production company, High Plains Films, has produced and distributed fourteen documentaries that explore our relationship with the natural world. High Plains Films have won more than 30 awards and been screened at film festivals and theaters world-wide. Other titles include The Naturalist 2001, Killing Coyote 2000, Wind River 1999, Southbound 1995, and This is Nowhere 2002. More information about High Plains Films is available on-line at www.highplainsfilms.org. High Plains Films P.O. Box 8796 Missoula, Montana 59807 (406) 543-6726 yak@highplainsfilms.org www.highplainsfilms.org Maple Lake Releasing 607-595 River Avenue Winnipeg, MB, R3L 0E6 tel. 204.474.1896 fax. 204.475.2288 www.maplelake.mb.ca Bullfrog Films P.O. Box 149 Oley, PA 19547 (800) 543-FROG www.bullfrogfilms.com