VIDEO REVIEWS

Betty Wills of Earthwave Productions has received several prestigious awards, and earned recognition for her nature programs at international film festivals, such as the 1999 Golem Video Festival in Italy, and the 2000 Carnegie Wild Life Film Festival in Pittsburgh, PA. Following are a few samples.....

NATIONAL AWARDS
1998 Aegis Award Winner Training/Educational Videos Producer: Earthwave Productions	1998 Aegis Award Winner Training/Educational Videos Scriptwriting: Betty Wills	1999 Excellence In Craft Award Natural History Category Member of: Outdoor Writers Association of America 1999 North American Film & Video Awards Honorable Mention Conservation/Natural History Member of: Outdoor Writers Association of America

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

America's Crayfish: Crawling In Troubled Waters

American Library Association's Booklist

"Top Of The List - Best Of Editors' Choice 2000", Videos

Also nominated for the ALA's Video Round Table Best Adult Video, 1999-2000

Also Recognized By

The 2nd Annual Carnegie Wild Life Film Festival - April, 2000

Sponsored by the
Carnegie Museum Of Natural History
Pittsburgh Chapter of the Safari Club International
Outdoor Writers Association of America

Lake Sturgeon: Dinosaurs of the Great Lakes

2001 Excellence In Craft Award
Outdoor Writers Association of America
Conservation/Environment Category

VIDEO LIBRARIAN

(Out of a possible 4 star rating)

Lake Sturgeon: Dinosaurs of the Great Lakes - 3½ Stars
2000 26 min. $15.95. Earthwave Productions, PPR. Color cover.
Volume 2 in Earthwave's Sturgeon Video Library (the [3rd] volume

is The Gulf Sturgeon, also available at the same price), this gorgeously photographed presentation explores the biology and ecological history of the lake sturgeon. Able to survive whatever killed off their dinosaur friends millennia ago, and then enduring through the cold of the Ice Ages, these spiny-skinned, bottom-dwelling creatures numbered in the 10 million range in the Great Lakes when they were first harvested for various commercial concerns in the 1880s and 1890s. By the 1920s, their numbers had dwindled to the remnant population that we see now, and today they are in fact an endangered species. Beginning with an amazingly comprehensive, 2 ½ minute long sociological and ecological treatise on the Great Lakes themselves, the producers then introduce us to the sturgeon's appearance, life-span, and feeding and reproductive habits, and then interview some of the many scientists and laypeople who are researching their decline and collaborating for their protection and recovery. A balanced, beautifully filmed, truly informative program, this tape is highly recommended for Great Lakes states libraries, and larger ecological/zoological collections elsewhere. Aud H, C, P. ( K. Glaser )

The Gulf Sturgeon

2001 Excellence In Craft Competition
***Winner of Two Awards***
Outdoor Writers Association of America
Conservation/Environment
and
Natural History Categories

River Invaders: The Scourge of Zebra Mussels

1997 Excellence In Craft Awards
Outdoor Writers Association of America
Conservation/Environment

BOOKLIST	VIDEO LIBRARIAN
EXCELLENT RESOURCE. Ages 15-adult. The host's portentious manner and a menacing musical background set an ominous tone for this informative investigation of the tiny, variegated, abundant bivalve that has infested the Great Lakes and waterways of North America. Then the video gives way to a serious, thorough look at the origins, invasion, and population boom of the zebra mussel. Governmental agency scientists and academic researchers speak of the enormous economic and ecological impact of the infestation and the dangers of and the costs involved in coping with and eradicating the animal. Fascinating photomicrographic images and revealing underwater shots bolster the illuminating commentary and scientific remarks. This is an excellent resource for cross-curriculum units and an informative alert for public library patrons. *- Irene Wood*	Cane toads, killer bees, feral goats...nature always seems to be on a rampage somewhere in the world. This time the culprit is the zebra mussel, an ugly little bivalve that is threatening the waterways and fresh water resources of the United States. Once thought to be limited only to cold water climates, the mussel is spreading into the warmer waters of the south and southwest. Just how bad are zebra mussels? They multiply at an incredible rate and are difficult to kill off; once they take hold in a river or lake system, man has a slim chance of getting rid of them. City water systems are clogged by these mussels and the other living organisms, primarily fish, that inhabit the streams and lakes are in danger because of the lack of available food. Libraries in areas affected by zebra mussels will definitely want this video; other systems may want to seriously consider it. Little information is available on the spread of zebra mussels and if they are as bad as this video makes them out to be, we had better learn about them before it's too late. Recommended . Aud: P. J. Carlson

The host's portentious manner and a menacing musical background set an ominous tone for this informative investigation of the tiny, variegated, abundant bivalve that has infested the Great Lakes and waterways of North America. Then the video gives way to a serious, thorough look at the origins, invasion, and population boom of the zebra mussel. Governmental agency scientists and academic researchers speak of the enormous economic and ecological impact of the infestation and the dangers of and the costs involved in coping with and eradicating the animal. Fascinating photomicrographic images and revealing underwater shots bolster the illuminating commentary and scientific remarks. This is an excellent resource for cross-curriculum units and an informative alert for public library patrons.

- Irene Wood

Cane toads, killer bees, feral goats...nature always seems to be on a rampage somewhere in the world. This time the culprit is the zebra mussel, an ugly little bivalve that is threatening the waterways and fresh water resources of the United States. Once thought to be limited only to cold water climates, the mussel is spreading into the warmer waters of the south and southwest. Just how bad are zebra mussels? They multiply at an incredible rate and are difficult to kill off; once they take hold in a river or lake system, man has a slim chance of getting rid of them. City water systems are clogged by these mussels and the other living organisms, primarily fish, that inhabit the streams and lakes are in danger because of the lack of available food. Libraries in areas affected by zebra mussels will definitely want this video; other systems may want to seriously consider it. Little information is available on the spread of zebra mussels and if they are as bad as this video makes them out to be, we had better learn about them before it's too late.

1998 Aegis Award Winner
Training/Educational Videos
Scriptwriting: Betty Wills

A Vanishing Melody: The Call
The Call Of The Piping Plover

REVIEW FROM VIDEO LIBRARIAN

(1997) 55 min $19.95. Earthwave Society. PPR. Color cover.
This inexpensive tape pays homage to the piping plover, a small, migratory shore bird whose cryptic coloring gives it an advantage against predators, but a "disadvantage when it comes to public interest and attention." Added to the Endangered Species list in 1985, the plover population actually increased 26.9% from 1991 to 1996, due undoubtedly to the efforts of government employees like the ones interviewed in the tape, who have as daily duties the preservation of the plovers' habitats and the rescue of eggs from predators and weather. Though this tape is a couple steps below Discovery Channel or PBS quality, and its subject is not nearly as dramatic as, say, grizzly bears, it's a pretty good little documentary. Recommended, with minor reservations for libraries collecting in this area. Aud: J, H, C, P. (K. Glaser )

The Paddlefish: An American Treasure

Award Winner in the OWAA's most prestigious award competition

The 1993 North American Outdoor Film & Video Awards
One Star Award - 4th place
Conservation/Natural History

REVIEWS & AWARDS

"Top Of The List - Best Of Editors' Choice 2000", Videos

Lake Sturgeon: Dinosaurs of the Great Lakes