The National Wildlife Refuge System celebrates its 108th birthday on March 14. On this date in 1903, President Teddy Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge on Florida’s Pelican Island to protect wild birds from bounty hunters.
President Roosevelt would go on to protect 52 more areas as wildlife sanctuaries before leaving office. Today, the Refuge System’s 553 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts support at least 700 species of birds, 220 mammals, 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 1,000 species of fish and countless invertebrates and plants.
Alan Sund traveled to Japan with Art Wolfe in February. Here are his thoughts on the experience as well as a few photos.
A wonderful experience! I’ve been a fan of Travels to the Edge for years – and this was great to finally go along with Art to see where and how so many wonderful images were taken, to experience it on a truly personal basis, to learn from the absolute best about how to improve my own wildlife, cultural, and landscape photography, and to practice each day from before dawn until after dusk. And add on top of that, each evening, Art’s excellent lectures and feedback on participants’ images. BTW… the behind the scenes planning was flawless (Art has a great crew). Best part of the trip??? I got to wear Art’s famous wool cap!!! The only way to top this would be to go on multiple tours with Art and Gavriel. Thanks guys!
Revolutions can only happen when people come together with a common sense of purpose. What we need today to preserve our planet’s biodiversity is nothing short of a grand revolution that includes everyone. We need those who dress in suits and ties and lobby for the rights of wildlife and wild places; we need those who throw wonderful parties to engage the philanthropic community; we definitely need those who spend countless hours in a lab or in the field collecting data that might help inform decisions…and we most certainly need those who speak with a righteous voice about the beauty and the magic of our planet’s natural wonders and speak for the loss with a sense of urgency, anger and frustration: journalists, poets, musicians, writers, film-makers, photographers…..
Yoga International’s* Spring 2011 issue has a wonderful personal account by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait on the Kumbha Mela. They have selected Art Wolfe’s images to accompany the story. Pick this up at the newstand now, or CLICK HERE for a PDF of the article.
If you care to see more of Art’s images of this remarkable human event, have a look at the slide show below.
*Yoga International is an award-winning, independent magazine that contemplates the deeper dimensions of spiritual life—exploring the power of yoga practice and philosophy to not only transform our bodies and minds, but inspire meaningful engagement in our society, environment, and the global community.
For those of you in Los Angeles, you are invited to a special slide show event at the Annenberg Space for Photography on the evening of Thursday, March 3rd, 2011. Slideshow Night is dedicated to the talents of photographers and photojournalists around the world & complement the current exhibit “Extreme Exposure”.
