On February 14, 2024, Sustainable Driftless, Inc. co-founder and film producer, George Howe, was killed in a tragic accident on his family’s rural La Crescent property.
George Howe was passionate about land conservation and environmental education. To further these goals, George, along with Tim Jacobson, founded the Driftless Environmental Education Project (DEEP) in 2015, which became Sustainable Driftless, Inc. in 2016. Sustainable Driftless, Inc. is dedicated to inspiring resource conservation, vibrant communities, and sustainable growth in the Driftless Region. In partnership with Untamed Science, Inc., the organization produced the feature-length documentary film, Decoding the Driftless, which had its film festival premiere in 2018 to an overflow crowd of more than a thousand people.
George worked tirelessly for years after that, showing the film at countless community and educational screening events and dozens of film festivals. Also, he worked with Jonas Stenstrom and Rob Nelson at Untamed Science, Inc., to edit a version of Decoding the Driftless for television. The film had its TV premiere in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 2020. Since then, it has been broadcast on PBS stations in dozens of states across much of the U.S., including as far away from the Midwest as California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Alaska. In October 2021, Decoding the Driftless was recognized at the 22nd Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Awards in the Twin Cities. George Howe earned the coveted television award along with his fellow producers and the director of the nature documentary.
The 2021 Emmy Award is part of a long line of accolades for George Howe and Decoding the Driftless coming from international and national film competitions, including in London, UK; Florence, Italy; New York, NY; Las Vegas, NV; and Los Angeles, California. The documentary has been honored as either “Best Picture” or “Best Documentary” by Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards in Hollywood, Gold Movie Awards in London, UK, Festigious International Film Festival in Los Angeles, Filmmakers Connect Awards, Los Angeles Cinematography AWARDS, Beloit International Film Festival, Iowa Independent Film Festival, and Red Cedar Film Festival. Both the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards and the New York Film Awards selected it for “Best Cinematography.” IndieFEST Film Awards in La Jolla, California, conferred a “Humanitarian Award of Distinction,” and WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival issued a Silver Remi Award to Decoding the Driftless. Also, the film was honored for “Outstanding Excellence” by the Docs Without Borders Film Festival, received the Titletown Jury Award and Audience Choice in the Green Bay Film Festival, was named a Finalist by the Florence (Italy) Film Awards, reached the Final List of Semi-Finalists at the jellyFEST Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA), was an official selection in the Accolade Global Film Competition (La Jolla, CA), and was recognized at the 2019 Wisconsin Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Wisconsin Dells.
In 2021, George Howe stated, “Walking the red carpet in both Hollywood and London for our film, and now receiving another regional Emmy Award, have been tremendous opportunities to draw positive attention to critically important landscape conservation issues. This is what we only dreamed of accomplishing.”
The 2021 Emmy Award came seven years after George Howe and his fellow producers received a regional Emmy in Chicago in 2014 for the similarly-themed documentary short, Mysteries of the Driftless.
George was especially proud that his son, Ryan, had contributed original music for the soundtrack of Decoding the Driftless.
George also worked with Jan Wee and Lisa Jacobson at Sustainable Driftless, Inc. to create lesson plans for schools throughout the Driftless Region to incorporate the film and its concepts into the classroom. In addition, George provided educational presentations and outdoor learning experiences for young people ranging from middle school through college.
In the fall of 2023, George Howe was inducted into the Lancer Wall of Excellence by the La Crescent-Hokah School District 300 Foundation.
Tim Jacobson, president of Sustainable Driftless, said, “George Howe was a beacon of light for the whole Driftless Region. His enthusiasm and love for our beautiful and precious landscape was infectious. He shared his passion through film, guided nature hikes, and educational talks. George is irreplaceable, but we must continue to move forward to leave a lasting legacy for him and for all who call the Driftless home.”
In the fall of 2022, Sustainable Driftless, Inc. announced a new documentary film project. SDI is very grateful to the George Howe family for designating Sustainable Driftless, Inc. to receive memorial gifts to support this film project and all of George’s environmental education work through SDI. Please visit https://www.sustainabledriftless.org/support/ to add your contribution to carry on George Howe’s legacy.