The Fish & the Flame plunges audiences into the wild and obscure waters of the San Juan Cutthroat, which flourished in the streams of Southern Colorado until mining pollution, fishing pressure, and non-native competitors drove it to extinction—allegedly. Thanks to genetic data from a 146-year old tissue sample at the Smithsonian, Jim’s team identified a few tiny holdout populations in 2018. But immediately after this discovery, the 416 Fire burned through the watershed, flushing toxic chemicals into the streams.

Our film documents Jim’s collaboration with a reclusive ranch manager, Tim Haarmann, to save an obscure fish from muddy asphyxiation and genetic roadblock (imagine the Habsburgs but with gills). We answer such pressing questions as: how do you rescue fish from a burn area? Once rescued, what happens next? This is a story about a passionate biologist risking his neck for a species most people have never heard of. It’s also a light-hearted look at watersheds, and how both public agencies and private landowners can work together to protect landscapes from the cascading effects of development and climate change.