The Power of Place

Stewardship of the environment and a conservation ethic are core values that we share, and many of our contributors and readers are actively involved in advocating these causes both nationally and locally. Photography and video are powerful tools for persuasion.

Longtime contributor and friend of Outdoor Photographer Jerry Monkman recently completed a visually stunning documentary, The Power of Place, exploring the controversial construction of Northern Pass, a 187-mile power line through small communities and pristine wilderness that many locals strongly oppose. Check out the trailer for the video and a full summary below. Congratulations to Jerry for this achievement!

The Power of Place from Jerry Monkman on Vimeo.

“Electricity giant Hydro-Quebec needs to sell more of its electricity to New England and Eversource Energy wants to pitch in by distributing this power to customers in southern New England. To do that the companies have joined forces to build Northern Pass, a 187-mile transmission line that will bisect the state of New Hampshire with high-voltage cable strung between 1500 steel towers rising as tall as 135 feet. Residents of the “Live Free or Die” state have a problem with that. New Hampshire is a place where people’s connections to the land run deep. Its mountains and forest, lakes and rivers, are part working landscape and part outdoor playground, and those opposed to Northern Pass see it as a desecration of this landscape.

“The Power of Place tells a compelling story by exploring the issues surrounding Northern Pass – its promise of bringing jobs and cheaper electricity to New England; the fears of those living next to the potential power line corridor; and the visual impact of the towers on iconic New Hampshire landscapes like the White Mountain National Forest, The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and the state’s Great North Woods Region. The 50 minute documentary combines interviews with experts and New Hampshire residents with distinctive landscape cinematography of the places that will be impacted by Northern Pass, from quiet ponds in and around the state capital, Concord, to the 360 degree views of wilderness summits like Mount Moosilauke and the Percy Peaks.”