Hope
Empathy
Connection
Hope Empathy Connection
Photo: Morgan Somers
What will it take to find our place in a rapidly changing natural world?
OCT 15, OCT 24 AND OCT 29 IN BEND, OREGON
This year, Central Oregon LandWatch is celebrating 40 years of defending and planning for a livable future.
Our 2026 Livable Future Forum brings an inspiring crew of storytellers and changemakers to Bend to explore how we can create a livable, just, and ecologically vibrant future in the face of profound challenges.
Filmmaker, entrepreneur, and engineer Dr. Len Necefer, alpinist Graham Zimmerman, conservation photographer Morgan Heim, filmmaker Veronica Wood, and author Emma Marris will share their hard-earned insights with us.
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 15, 2026
Arctic to Deschutes
OCT 15, 6:30 PM | RAY HALL, OSU-CASCADES
Water doesn't respect borders, and neither do the decisions being made about it. Dr. Len Necefer — filmmaker, entrepreneur, and engineer — will trace a line from the rivers of the Arctic to the Colorado River basin and, finally, to the water we argue over here in Central Oregon.
Professional alpinist, filmmaker, and climate activist Graham Zimmerman will be our guide through these landscapes and topics.
$15 FOR EVENT | $40 FOR SERIES
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Dr. Len Necefer, Ph.D., is the CEO and Founder of NativesOutdoors, a native-owned athletic and creative collective. Len has worked for the U.S. Department of Energy and, more recently, the University of Arizona. These roles included significant work throughout Alaska working with Alaskan native communities on energy and environmental issues. His storytelling work melds the intersection of sport, environmental advocacy, and Indigenous people and has been featured in Alpinist, National Geographic, and over 50 film festivals globally.
He holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
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Born in New Zealand and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Graham Zimmerman cut his teeth in the Southern Alps before returning to the US and committing fully to alpinism — a pursuit that has taken him on more than 30 expeditions and assignments across Alaska, Pakistan, Patagonia, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Brazil, and beyond.
In 2020, Graham was awarded the Piolet d’Or —alpinism’s highest honor. He has established dozens of significant new routes on rock, ice, and snow, and has received the American Alpine Club’s Cutting Edge Award and the New Zealand Alpinist of the Year award.
Graham’s creative work runs parallel to his climbing. His memoir A Fine Line: Searching for Balance Among Mountains (Mountaineers Books, 2023) was a finalist for the Banff Mountain Book Competition and the Boardman Tasker Award, among others. He has directed award-winning films, written feature articles for Alpinist, and produced the REI Presents: Wildfire podcast.
Off the mountain, Graham leads the alliance program at Protect Our Winters, organizing and supporting more than 150 elite athletes to be effective climate advocates. He is the founding board chair of Dirtroad Organizing, a 501(c)(4) dedicated to coaching candidates in rural districts across the United States. He served two terms on the board of the American Alpine Club—including a term as President—and now serves on the Board of Trustees for The Mountaineers.
He lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife Shannon, their daughter Sloane, and their dogs Pebble and Igneous.
$15 FOR EVENT | $40 FOR SERIES
October 24, 2026
Crossings
OCT 24, 6:30 PM | RAY HALL, OSU-CASCADES
What does it truly feel like for wildlife to navigate our fragmented world? National Geographic photographer and filmmaker Morgan Heim invites you past the dry data and into the visual heartbeat of migration.
This special presentation features two starkly beautiful projects: Deer 139, a feature film following the raw, grueling 100-mile journey of a pregnant mule deer across the rugged Mountain West, and Roads Most Taken, a localized fine art portrait series honoring roadkill with flowers to ponder the hidden costs of our daily transit. Step into their hooves, paws, and footprints, and discover how true empathy can pave the way for real-world conservation and safer crossings.
Plus, catch the world premiere of our new short film, Crossings, by filmmaker Veronica Wood. Crossings will drop viewers into the ponderosa pine forests at the base of Black Butte, revealing the challenges wildlife face in this abundantly beautiful area.
A Q&A with both Morgan Heim and Veronica Wood will take place following the film.
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Morgan Heim is a conservation photographer, filmmaker, and National Geographic Explorer who uncovers the personal stories behind protecting wildlife and their ecosystems. As the Executive Director and a Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and the founder of Neon Raven Story Labs, she focuses on our complex relationship with nature through human storytelling, while uplifting her fellow filmmakers and photographers.
Rather than focusing on individual species, Morgan’s work blends science, nature, and culture to explore identity and resilience. Driven by curiosity, she seeks answers to fundamental questions: What compels us to venture into the unknown? How do we keep going against all odds? And can we find joy despite the mountains left to climb? By embracing surprising, humorous stories, she moves beyond data to find play, wonder, and a touch of romanticism in the protection of our planet.
Morgan's award-winning work has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, Audubon, and Smithsonian. She is a multi-recipient in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Big Picture, and Siena International Photography Awards, and her film Reindalen won the Conservation Short-form category at the Jackson Wild Media Awards.
Learn more at morganheim.com.
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Veronica Wood is a nonfiction filmmaker and journalist born on Klamath lands in Oregon. Educated in Los Angeles, she has spent the past 15 years filming across six continents. Her work focuses on character-driven documentaries exploring interdependence. Her films have screened at more than 30 international film festivals, with other work selected for SXSW, exhibited at the Getty Museum, and broadcast on PBS, FNX, and NPO. She has directed documentaries, short films, and commissioned films for cultural institutions, nonprofits, and news organizations. Her filmmaking has been supported by Film Independent and the California State Library, and she has served as a mentor for the AXS Film Fund.
In addition to filmmaking, Veronica is an award-winning journalist and serves as Chief Operating Officer of Indigenous Network. She was selected as a fellow by the Local Media Association and Google News Initiative, as well as the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund. Her journalism has been supported by American Community Media, the Prebys Foundation, and the Indigenous Journalists Association.
October 29, 2026
Best Case Scenario
OCT 29, 6:30 PM | EMBARK (2843 NW Lolo Dr, Bend)
Tired of environmental doom and gloom? So is Emma Marris. In this talk, based on her National Geographic cover story looking ahead to life in 2070, Marris will paint a portrait of one possible future: the one where we learn how to live well on Earth.
Its not easy to be optimistic about the environment these days, but a vision of the good futures that are still available to us is essential to keep our momentum up as we work for change. This talk won’t be a Pollyanna-ish exercise in wishful thinking. Change—and loss—has already begun and more is inevitable. But all is not lost, and there are diverse, green possibilities still.
Using the latest science and social science as a starting point, this vision of what we are fighting for is realistic, achievable, and inspiring.
$15 FOR EVENT | $40 FOR SERIES
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Emma grew up in Seattle, Washington, and while she has lived all over, she eventually ended up in Portland, Oregon, just a few hours from her hometown. What can she say? She missed the moss.
She has been writing about the environment for over 20 years, beginning as a staffer at the journal Nature and eventually freelancing for National Geographic, Wired, the Atlantic, Nature, the New York Times, among others—as well as writing two popular science books, Rambunctious Garden (2011) and Wild Souls (2021). She has a Master’s in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins, 2004.
Emma has written several peer-reviewed papers for environmental ethics and conservation science journals and contributed to scholarly edited volumes. Her core interest is in human relationships with the nonhuman world, but she has also written about music, film, and even true crime.
She believes in hope, and she believes that good futures are still available to us. Imagining those good futures and writing towards them is her life’s work.
The 2026 Livable Future Forum is generously supported by:
With additional support and in-kind assistance from:
“A story about land and water told without its people is not worth much.”