The following orininally appeared in the Fall edition of Sitka Insight Magazine. For more information about Sitka Insight, subscribe now.

Montana native Jason Matzinger is probably most well known for his show “Into High Country.” But he’s also the man behind “#PROJECTELK.” Edited from over 200 hours of footage filmed over six hunting seasons, Jason and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation present the story of the science and evolution of conservation.

But more than that, Jason wanted to capture the wild beauty of Rocky Mountain elk, and make it accessible for everyone.

“So few people in the world get to see elk be elk, and I wanted to share that with the world. I wanted to capture it better than it had ever been captured, the sounds, the depth of the bugle, how you feel when you're out there, how it rattles you,” said Jason.

But as filming and production moved forward, Jason realized that there was a deeper story behind the natural footage. He realized he needed to show why hunting is so important on a personal and conservation level.

“At one point, I wanted it to be more of like a full-on Frozen Planet or Planet Earth or Nat Geo, just full-on epicness from beginning to end,” said Jason. “But the ultimate goal was not just to educate hunters about our responsibilities, but also to educate non-hunters and help more understand what we do.”

Jason hopes that his documentary will help build curriculum in hunter education classes and high school biology. He knows that hunters are conservationists. They’re the ones out there in the world witnessing the changes in the wilderness. And it's up to them to preserve the places and animals they love.

“I absolutely want it to light a fire in people,” he said. “I want them to feel like there's way more they could be doing. I hope it helps us become more well rounded as sportsmen. I hope people who never have donated to wildlife conservation step up.”