Connected With the Land

Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Tim Jacobson was fascinated by the natural world and developed a passion for preserving the environment. Nowadays, that’s reflected not only in his environmental litigation practice but his hobbies—especially filmmaking.

Jacobson has made several films about the Driftless Area, the region in the Upper Mississippi River Valley untouched by glaciers during the last ice age. Its hills, valleys and water features contrast with those typical of the Midwest and Plains regions. His foray into film started with the 2013 documentary short Mysteries of the Driftless, for which Jacobson served as a writer and executive producer. It was broadcast on public television and won a Regional Emmy.

After the short’s success, Jacobson says he and his filmmaking partners decided to capitalize on it by making another film about the unique region. In 2018, they released the feature-length Decoding the Driftless, which Jacobson describes as a “science exploration and adventure” story that follows the filmmakers as they trek across land, air and water, interviewing experts along the way.

“The goal of it is to inspire resource conservation, get people engaged and connected with the land, and have a better understanding of nature and the natural forces that have shaped this part of the world,” Jacobson says.

The filmmakers hoped Decoding would be shown in the Driftless Area states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They were “blown away” when it wound up being broadcast across most of the U.S., Jacobson says. It also garnered international recognition and multiple awards, including another Regional Emmy and either best picture or best documentary honors from eight festivals.

“We were thrilled to have that kind of reception and, from our perspective, the success of the film is due to the amazing subject matter,” Jacobson says.

But they weren’t done. In September, they released a new short: Spirit of the Driftless. Jacobson describes Spirit as more “serene and contemplative. A lot of gorgeous aerial scenery, beautiful music—just kind of a relaxing presentation,” he says.

The Driftless films reflect one aspect of Jacobson’s love of the natural world. Earlier in his career doing environmental legal work, he volunteered as a board member of the Mississippi Valley Conservancy. During this time, the nonprofit’s executive director resigned.

“I made a decision to apply for the job so I could do environmental protection work full time, not just part of the time,” he says.

Jacobson was hired and spent seven years as executive director. He worked on Mysteries while in the role, hoping to further the organization’s environmental education mission. He later formed a new nonprofit called Sustainable Driftless, which created Decoding and Spirit.

As though making films and practicing law weren’t enough, Jacobson has carved out time for a variety of other pursuits that help relieve the stress of litigation. He’s earned a black belt in karate and pilot certificates for both land and seaplanes—he previously served as a major in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol). He’s also an avid road cyclist, scuba diver, landscape photographer and author. 

One of his books is an action thriller called The Kurchatov Penetration, which he wrote while drawing on his personal experience in computer programming and time studying Russian language and history.

Now back to practicing law full time, Jacobson is still dedicated to environmental issues. He often works on litigation against mining companies, representing private property owners, rural farmers and other land owners in western Wisconsin who suddenly find themselves with huge industrial facilities and blasting operations right outside their doors, causing water, air and noise pollution, and lowered property values.

Jacobson also represents people who suffer from water contamination. Some of his clients include the residents of French Island, on the Mississippi River just outside of La Crosse. With the private well water they depend on contaminated with PFAS, the residents currently rely on bottled water.

“More often it’s lawyers in big firms in big cities that are doing environmental work. But their work, I think, tends to be more focused on regulatory issues and working with corporate clients, whereas my work is all on behalf of individuals, private homeowners,” Jacobson says.

Where to Watch

• Mysteries of the Driftless is available on youtube.com/@untamedscience
• Decoding the Driftless is available on pbs.org/show/decoding-driftless and sustainable-driftless.org/store
• Spirit of the Driftless is available on sustainable-driftless.org/store