Elam Stoltzfus

Elam Stoltzfus
Stoltzfus in 2012
Born	Elam Stevie Stoltzfus May 18, 1957 Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Florida State University
Years active	1990-present
Spouse(s)	Esther Stoltzfus (1985-present)
Website	www.liveoakproductiongroup.com

Elam S. Stoltzfus (born 1957) is an American environmental documentary filmmaker.

Early life[]

Stoltzfus was born into an Amish family of nine in Pennsylvania in 1957. During his later teens Elam left the Amish community, purchased a car and a camera. He first attended Chipola College and then earned his B.S. in Media & Communication from Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information.

Career[]

Stoltzfus is devoted to working on nature documentaries in Florida and has traveled all over the state documenting stories of Florida’s varied environment. He has made five hour-long nature documentaries, with the genesis for this work beginning with the half-hour "Visions of Florida: the Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher" produced in 1990. He first met Clyde Butcher as the cinematographer for the project Visions of Florida. This was his first award-winning project; he received a Louis Wolfson award for “Best in Artistic Expression.” This film was also his first to be released nationwide through Public Television.^[1] After a six year stint as a media designer for the state of Florida, in 2000 he began work on "Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida" featuring 12 aquatic preserves located around the state.^[2] His next project was "Apalachicola River: An American Treasure" on the iconic waterway of the Florida panhandle.^[3] After this he completed "Big Cypress: The Western Everglades" featuring Clyde Butcher’s backyard.^[4] Following this was "Kissimmee Basin: The Northern Everglades".^[5] As a way to tie all of these Everglades projects together, he was a member of the four-team expedition group, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition.^[6] The team traveled 1000 miles in 100 days from the Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp.^[7] This journey was documented in the film of the same name and garnered Stoltzfus a Suncoast Regional Emmy in the Documentary category.^[8] According to Walton Outdoors, Stoltzfus is currently working on a project involving Walton County's Coastal Dune Lakes^[9] as “bringing awareness to [the] lakes is key to helping preserve our environment… we are fortunate now to have an educational documentary in the works.”^[10] The film was featured on PBS’ Public Television Earth Day weekend in 2015.

Personal life[]

Elam Stoltzfus married his wife, Esther Yoder Stoltzfus in 1985. Together, they have two children, Nicholas and Laura.

Awards and honors[]

In 2010 Stoltzfus was recognized by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission for documenting wildlife in the state of Florida.

In May 2013, Stoltzfus was invited to speak at Florida State University's Spring Commencement Ceremony.^[11] That year, governor Rick Scott recognized Elam and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition team for their efforts to aid in conservation.

In 2014, Stoltzfus won a Suncoast Emmy in the category of best documentary for the Florida Wildlife Corridor film.^[12] He received both the 2014 Conservation of the year award by the Florida Wildlife Federation at the Annual Awards Banquet in Naples, Florida,^[13] and the 2014Sierra Club of Florida Cypress Award for Conservation Education.^[14]

Filmography[]

• “Great Florida Cattle Drive” (2017)
• “Coastal Dune Lakes: Jewels of Florida's Emerald Coast” (2015)
• “Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition: Everglades to Okefenokee” (2013)
• "Kissimmee Basin: the Northern Everglades” (2012)
• “Photoshop Made Simple by Clyde Butcher” (2010)
• “Big Cypress Swamp: Western Everglades” (2009)
• "Will McLean: Songs about Florida” (2007)
• “Our Legacy: Florida Communities Trust” (2006)
• "Apalachicola River: an American Treasure” (2006)
• “Our Signature: the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River” (2005)
• “Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida” (2004)
• “Visions of Florida: Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher” (1990)

References[]