CITIZEN And usually does. I believe that if given a chance, most everyone rises to the occasion. Do you ever look at your ratings? I know they’re impressive and Idaho Public Television’s numbers are consistently among the highest in the nation. Let’s just say that I hear about them. Let’s talk about the mechanics of Outdoor Idaho. I’m presuming you do your camerawork first. Yes. We shoot footage before a script comes in. Do you storyboard your programs? Let me give you an example. I just got back from a four-day trip into the Sawtooths—16 miles in, 16 miles out—to trace the headwaters of the Boise River as part of a full program we’re producing on Idaho’s headwaters. So, if you were to come into my office, you would see a pretty big piece of paper that says, “Program in December” at the top and large categories: Snake River, Boise River, Salmon River and St. Joe River… That sounds like the frame of a storyboard. We went out into the Sawtooths and a number of other treks, did our interviews and plenty of shooting, brought the material back, ingested it into our computer and took transcriptions home. Then we try to figure out the timeframe to tell each headwater’s story, but our journeys inform those stories. A lot of our journey to the headwater of the Boise River will be about how we got there. We had a hell of a time getting there. Our journey into the headwater of the Selway included a pretty good discussion between an outfitter and a retired district ranger about wildfire decisions. Let me pause you there. Can I ask your personal opinion on our current national strategy to let wildfires burn? I live among large ponderosa pines and Douglas firs. I’m a big believer in managing forests. I have a hunch, especially after this past year, that it’s going to become a lot harder for Idaho’s environmental community to push for leaving forests alone from management. I think it’s one of the reasons why people are so angry with the government. As we lose another generation of people who effected significant change for wilderness, I’m wondering if they’re being supplanted by young folks with equal fervor. It’s a problem. The young people who I think would be pushing for wilderness are usually on a mountain bike or hiking but I must tell you, when we hiked into the Sawtooths recently, through Atlanta, we saw just one other person hiking by himself. BOISE WEEKLY.COM
Speaking of engagement on wilderness issues, Outdoor Idaho has always walked a very delicate line and never advocates. I don’t like to preach to the choir. It’s most challenging to walk a fine line. Yet politics continues to weave its way into the wilderness fabric, and you seem to have found a sweet spot where we all coexist. I think I’m most proud of that. At any given time, how many Outdoor Idaho shows do you have in pre- or postproduction? Five or six. What does your Outdoor Idaho wish list look like? You’re looking at it [Reichert points to a page of titles of upcoming Outdoor Idaho projects]. There are about 10 topics for shows on this list, and they all look great. How about your own bucket list? You’re still looking at it. I’m presuming you’ll be checking these off sooner than later. How about your personal bucket list? I want to stay healthy. What’s your secret? For one, I don’t worry about getting old. How often do you commute from Idaho City to Boise? Three or four times a week. I used to do it every day. I would be remiss if I didn’t take you back to a previous comment—you were talking about Zorba the Greek. That was a long time ago. When I got out of college, presumably thinking I would be going to law school someday, I was bumming around Europe, selling my blood for money. I ended up on the Island of Crete. I must share with you that my editor told me he has an uncle who lives in Greece and he watches Outdoor Idaho online. In fact, he never misses it. Wow. High praise. We hear from people all over the world. After 33 years of Outdoor Idaho, how do those shows stack up in your mind’s eye? A scrap book, a diary, a Rolodex? It’s more than 300 shows. Sometimes I’ll look at a show I haven’t seen in a long time, and I’m almost always pleasantly surprised. BOISEweekly | OCTOBER 14–20, 2015 | 9