New Year Means New Exhibit

at Idaho Museum of Natural History

“Visions of Nature, Through the Eyes of Richard Jeppson”

opened January 3^rd.

For most people the terms “taxidermy” and “conservation” would seem to be diabolically opposite. For more than 32 years, Richard Jeppson has brought the two terms together to teach a wide range of people to enjoy and understand the natural world around them. On January 3^rd, 2005, IMNH opened a new exhibit, with the work of Richard Jeppson as its focus. Jeppson is the curator for the new exhibit, which highlights his incredible nature photography and taxidermy. The exhibit showcases a wide variety of plant and animal habitats, with an emphasis on the conservation of these valuable natural resources.

Jeppson is a native Idahoan who has been involved with wildlife and nature most of his life. He remembers developing a love for nature and the outdoors that was fostered by his father who. Even after a hunting accident that limited his father’s mobility to a wheelchair, he continued to instill in Richard a sense of interest and wonder in the natural world. His first brush with taxidermy also took place when he was a child. “I remember being about ten or eleven years old,” Jeppson recalled. “I sent away for a mail order taxidermy course from an ad on the back of a sporting magazine. The course was from the Northwest School of Taxidermy in Omaha, Nebraska.” Jeppson doesn’t remember if he did anything with the course when he got it, but he certainly took to taxidermy years later.

Jeppson retired last spring after more than 32 years as a science teacher at Highland High School, emphasizing in biological studies. During that time, he created an extensive collection of bio-artifacts for use in his teaching. He also developed a six-semester curriculum that combined conservation and taxidermy. It was regarded as the most detailed high school taxidermy curriculum in the country. For his efforts, and general teaching excellence, Jeppson received much recognition during his teaching career, including being named Idaho Conservation Educator of the Year, Pocatello’s Outstanding Educator of the Year, and Southeast Idaho Conservationist of the Year.

Early in his teaching career, Jeppson discovered that he would have to get into taxidermy if he was going to teach his students about science and nature. He wanted to have an extensive taxidermy reference collection for his students, and to do that he would have to follow the same laws and regulations as commercial taxidermists. So, in addition to teaching, Jeppson also became a commercial taxidermist. He has become a true master at this craft, having won more than 250 awards, ribbons and special recognition in 20 taxidermy categories. He and his wife were also instrumental in organizing Idaho’s professional taxidermists, starting the Idaho Association of Taxidermists in 1985. He and his wife, Karen, have operated Jeppson’s Highland Taxidermy, a full-spectrum taxidermy art studio, in Pocatello since 1972.

“Visions of Nature, Through the Eyes of Richard Jeppson” includes a number of world-class taxidermy mounts. Subjects include rattlesnakes, weasels and even a Bald Eagle and Mountain Goat. Each piece has an interesting story to go along with it. For example, one of his pieces consists of two fawns. Jeppson purchased the fawn carcasses from the Idaho Fish and Game Department. It seems as though the fawns’ mother was struck and killed by a car. Both fawns were still inside her at the time, yet to be born. Jeppson used the animals to create a beautiful, natural scene. He has purchased other animals from Idaho Fish and Game, and he has also used road kill specimens and hunted, or as Jeppson refers to them “harvested,” animals in his work.

His pieces have been used to teach people about the importance of taking care of our environment and the nature within it. For instance, he used his Bald Eagle piece to educate people on the need for outlawing lead shot for hunters. “Bald Eagles would prey upon waterfowl such as ducks that had been hit by lead shot but not killed. The lead shot would work its way through the eagles’ system and poison them,” Jeppson said. Thanks to his efforts, and those of numerous concerned naturalists, hunting with lead shot is now illegal.

Upon retiring from his teaching duties, Jeppson donated much of his collection to IMNH. Jeppson said the value of the collection is around $500,000 and offers multiple uses, from pieces that can be used in class work to those suitable for display in the Museum’s galleries. This is the first of many times IMNH hopes to use parts of this collection in its exhibits.

“Visions of Nature, Through the Eyes of Richard Jeppson” exhibit opened on January 3^rd and will run through late-March. IMNH is located on S. 5^th Ave. and Dillon St., on the campus of Idaho State University in Pocatello, ID. For more information, please call the Museum at 208-282-3317 or visit the Museum website at http://imnh.isu.edu.