'Ozark Underwater' documentary in the works

MOUNTAIN HOME — Champ Williams is on the bottom of the White River in full scuba gear inches away from an 85-pound alligator snapping turtle. The 25-year-old California filmmaker moves his camera closer as the turtle sways in the current.

More than an hour later, Williams surfaces. "That's good," he says. "I've got what I need."

Williams is in Arkansas filming a documentary on aquatic life in the Ozarks. He plans to call the film "Ozark Underwater."

The documentary, which Williams hopes will air on Arkansas Educational Television Network and other regional PBS stations, will feature everything from salamanders and fish to crayfish and turtles.

Of the more than 60 minutes of footage Williams shot of the alligator snapping turtle, viewers can expect to see maybe 15 seconds in the final film.

"That (15 seconds from more than an hour of footage shot) is actually pretty good," Williams said. "I'll often shoot several hours just to get a few seconds."

And, to get those 15 seconds took more than six months of planning and help.

In December, Williams contacted Dr. Stanley Trauth, a zoology professor and herpetologist at Arkansas State University Jonesboro and a 1966 Mountain Home High School graduate, to see if Trauth could help find some of the animals he wanted to film.

So on a hot night two weeks ago, Trauth and Williams headed up the Buffalo River from its confluence with the White River and set several turtle traps. The next morning, they ran the traps and came up with the huge alligator snapping turtle, as well as a common map turtle, a Mississippi map turtle, a spiny soft-shell turtle and a river cooter turtle, the ones that canoeists often see sunning themselves on logs.

"We couldn't have been any luckier," Trauth said of capturing the titanic turtle.

To get the footage of the turtles, Williams and Trauth motored back to the White River at Buffalo City to film in its clear, shallow water.

Most of the subjects cooperated except the spiny soft-shell turtle, which, when placed in the water next to Williams, scampered away at speeds more associated with a hare than a turtle.

"Those guys are extremely fast," Trauth said as the reptile disappeared.

The map turtles scurried straight to Williams. "This guy thinks I'm a rock, he's right under me," Williams said waiting to get a shot.

Williams - born and raised in Fort Smith - moved to Ventura, Calif., several years ago to pursue a career in filmmaking. He founded Nereus Entertainment LLC. He also earned a degree in marine biology.

"I remember a contest in sixth grade where we had to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up," Williams said. "I drew myself as a marine biologist." Williams said he won the contest.

Williams' passion for his work is evident in his films. He won an Emmy for a film he worked on called "Secret Weapon."

Trauth, too, has had his time behind and in front of the camera. In 2006, he participated in the filming of a natural history television series with famed British Broadcasting Corporation writer and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. He led the BBC crew to an abandoned coal mine shaft in Ouachita National Forest, near Hot Springs, to film western slimy salamanders.

And a few weeks ago, Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs program spent a day with Trauth helping him trap alligator snapping turtles. The show is set to air in October or November.

"He was a great guy, just a normal guy," Trauth said. "He took to handling the turtles like a pro. But he did respect the fact they can bite."

While alligator snapping turtles look threatening, Trauth said they're not out looking to bite someone on the toe.

The reptiles are sedentary and mostly docile. They hang out in a spot for hours dangling lure-like structures from their mouths waiting for a fish to investigate before chomping down.

"They're not called snappers for nothing," Trauth said. "Anything that gets close to their mouth, they chomp. That's how they make their living.

"But there is really nothing for humans to worry about, unless you're one of those guys that fishes with their hands."

For more information see Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.