Patrice Mutchnick, co-producer and one of the principles in the documentary, "Journey Down the Gila River," spoke with KRWG's Susan Morée about the making of the documentary, the children the journey down the river celebrates and the legislation the principles hope will pass to protect the river.
Susan Morée:
Tell us about this film and tell us why it's important.
Patrice Mutchnick:
Thanks. Thanks for having me. "Journey Down the Gila" is a 90-minute documentary that follows the voyage of three mothers down the length of the wilderness run, 37 miles down the Gila River. And the film tells the story of their journey as well as the lives of each of their children who died in a small aircraft accident in 2014. The children were supporters of the Gila River and worked along the river as ecomonitors in high school. In conjunction with that, the movie tells the story of the struggle to keep the Gila free flowing and the fight to designate The Gila as a wild and scenic river.
Susan Morée:
And you're one of the moms, correct?
Patrice Mutchnick:
I am. I'm one of the moms. My daughter is Ella Jazz Kirk. And I, along with the two other moms, agreed to take this journey to elevate the story of our children, to move the story from a story of tragedy, which it still is, but also to share their message of hope with others, how we can band together to protect the places we love. And in this case, to band together to protect the Gila River so it is forever free flowing.
Susan Morée:
I've had the opportunity to see the film at another venue. It seems to me that the journey also felt to me a little bit like a healing journey for the moms, yourself included. Would you say that's true?
Patrice Mutchnick:
Yes, I think that the journey was a way for us to be out on the river together in the place that our children loved. I think it was also a painful expression of our grief, but at the same time, that was an opportunity to elevate our children's story for one of hope and to share with others. So it's healing in that way that we get to do something to honor our children. Many parents whose children die don't get that opportunity, so we feel honored that our stories and our children's stories are elevated in that way.
Susan Morée:
This is another look at the lives of these children and the impact they had. I'm also thinking of Philip Connor's book, "A Song for the River," which also documents those kids and what happened to them. What was it about those kids that has led to such a response to their deaths?
Patrice Mutchnick:
Well, I appreciate that question because our children died 12 years ago and we're still fortunate to have our communities talking about them and we're still fortunate to be able to reach out to other communities and tell their story. I think that the element of hope and love that our children represented, they showed us that everyone is capable, even a 14 or 15 year old, of making a difference in their communities, of changing the world for the better. And I feel that story resonates with us no matter how far away we are from the incident or the crisis itself. And I think that their love of place and their innocence, of course, allowed us to take their story and expand it and to have others want to hear it. And I think the place, I think the Gila has a mystic and a magical sense to it, too. These were children who were born and raised in the Gila wilderness and their lives and death allow us to be part of their journey in the Gila wilderness and people can take that journey with them and with us to a place that's exceptional. And if we weren't still fighting for the protection of the river, perhaps their story would be less relevant to be showing, again, seven or eight years after we made the film. But because the struggle to protect the Gila and the threats that are ongoing to the Gila, that makes their story relevant still. So I think that it's both of those reasons at the heart of it, the children and the love that people have for the Gila.
Susan Morée:
And the film also highlights you and another one of the mothers traveling to Washington, D.C. to advocate for protection for the river. Can you talk a little bit about that? Where does that stand at this point and why is that important?
Patrice Mutchnick:
Yes, it actually was all three. It's just that only one of the moms went with me on the train because I don't fly anymore. And then the other mom met us at the airport. So all three of us got to speak at that time with Senator Udall and Senator Heinrich at the time. And almost right after that, just a few months after our visit, it was the first time that Senator Udall introduced the bill. The bill (M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act)
has actually been introduced four times and sometimes it takes that long to protect the places you love. And most recently the bill was introduced in March of 2025, this time both in the House and in the Senate and all five of our delegation were co-sponsors to the bill. That's very unusual and a very powerful statement, both senators and all three representatives. That bill has been heard in one of the committees, but still is waiting for passage. Each bill every time it's introduced has to be passed within that Congress. So it has about two, just over two years to get passed before the next legislature is elected and installed. So we're pushing hard for that to try to get some traction and move that forward in this legislature. So that's why we're showing the film at (7 p.m.) at the Rio Grande (Theatre) this week so that we can get folks from Las Cruces invested in helping us get that bill passed.
Susan Morée:
All right. And thank you so much, Patrice, for taking the time to talk to me.
