Urban renewal takes many forms. We are busy primates, always changing our environment for better and mostly for worse. For 40 years Seattleites dumped their garbage at the Montlake Dump just north of today’s Husky Stadium. It was just a worthless marsh so why not? Spurred on by a blossoming of environmental awareness in the 1960s-70s, a plan was slowly developed to reclaim the area as a natural laboratory. Today the site is some 50 acres of which 14 acres have been completely restored. It is a long process, beating back the Himalayan blackberries, loosestrife and other nonnative species. It wasn’t until the 1980s that work in earnest began, resulting in the natural marshland in existence today.
We have joined Washington Wild and 108 organizations, Tribes, and elected officials to urge the Canadian Government to stop Imperial Metals from mining the Skagit River headwaters.
The iconic Skagit River begins in British Columbia, flows down through the North Cascades and Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, eventually ending in the Puget Sound.
Along the way, the river provides critical habitat for grizzly bears, bull trout, spotted owls, and the largest populations of threatened steelhead and Chinook salmon. The fish, in turn, provide food to Orcas, and are central to many Native communities’ cultures and treaty rights.
Puget sound is right outside my window, and frequently I shoot in the western corridor between BC and Seattle – I’m distinctly aware of the ecosystem in question. Decisions made by our neighbors to the north affect us downstream. Moving forward with mining is a direct threat to one of our state’s most beloved natural resources. #ProtectSkagit!
Click here for a PDF with more information on this proposal.
I am thrilled to join some of the world’s most renowned photographers in the new Art for Wildlife Rangers sale hosted by Global Wildlife Conservation and administered by Tusk Trust. Rangers protect 30% of the planet, and are critical to helping us address the twin crises of climate change and species extinctions.
But the pandemic has been devastating for rangers in Africa. Their salaries have drastically been cut and many of them have been furloughed, leaving wildlife and local communities vulnerable and unprotected.
Together with more than twenty leading photographers, I am selling prints to support ranger teams in Africa that have been most severely hit. 100% of proceeds will be contributed to the Ranger Fund to support rangers on the ground, providing a lifeline to their communities as well as iconic wildlife. All print sales will be matched by the Scheinberg Relief Fund to double your generous contribution.
Ask anyone who lives in an area where mining, logging, or any other natural resource has left barren or debilitated habitats in their wake and many will tell you just how long it takes to recover; in some cases the answer is simply “never”.
Enter the Tongass National Forest – the largest remaining intact temperate rain forest on the planet. With a unique ecosystem where this ancient forest meets the ephemeral Pacific, this is home to over 400 species of wildlife comprising one of the rarest ecosystems in the world.
In 2001 the “Roadless Rule” was enacted in this region to keep it safe from the development of roads and logging that would most definitely have a negative impact on the local flora and fauna. This past week the current administration continued it’s attacks on conservation by rolling back this rule, Opening up nearly 10 million acres of the Tongass for logging and development.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to get out there and vote ASAP and help protect these natural bastions of rare ecosystems for the denizens of them who can’t!
Tomorrow is Migratory Bird Day! With projects like Migrations and the upcoming wild, I’ve no shortage of photos to celebrate these stalwart world travelers. Enjoy the image gallery!
On the subject of ‘world travelers’, tomorrow morning Parimal and myself will be live at 10 AM on Earth Is Our Witness to talk with “The Big Cat People” Angela and Jonathan Scott to hear the awesome tales that come of over four decades of experience photographing the lions of Africa.
Enjoy the images and we hope to see you live tomorrow morning!
While we are distracted by so many other things going on in the world, the current Administration has once again seized the opportunity to make vulnerable lands that have long been protected to ensure that drilling and industry don’t completely eradicate natural habitats. I’ve been traveling to ANWR, or the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for essentially my whole life. This roughly 20-million acres located in the Northeastern corner of Alaska is abundant in flora and fauna that has enjoyed protections since 1960. The debate over drilling in the region dates back nearly as far.
I understand that this is largely a political issue, but it really shouldn’t be. The preservation of our natural places sets a precedence now that future generations will look to for guidance. How do we justify letting go a protected corner of a state and opening it up to destruction so a few companies can make a buck drilling and moving on? This area is protected because it has already been established as vulnerable, and no science has been revealed to suggest otherwise.
Busy week both here in Art Wolfe land and the world! Sports are returning in limited fashion, political fallout, and conflicts of ideology that are having harmful results (wear a mask! Please – I have many more book projects to complete!). I absolutely enjoyed chatting with Michelle Valberg last night on Earth Is Our Witness. If you enjoyed Michelle’s work, don’t forget to pop over to the Earth Is Our Witness Instagram page and give a photo you like a comment – a lucky winner will receive a free print!
Last night on Tequila Time, I had a bit of fun with a look at some of the antics of my youth, but I also ended on a poignant note. As many of you are aware, the flora, fauna, and livelihood of local fishermen is under immense threat by the proposed Pebble Mine project in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska If the Pebble Mine goes through, the bears will lose, the fish will lose, Alaskans will lose, and Earth will lose. It’s short term gain for the few and long-term destruction for the many.
A little over a year ago now I sent out a call to action to contact your congresspersons and let them know your thoughts on this project, that only serves to propagate wealth for the few while ravaging this beautiful and globally unique environment that we and future generations will lose out on.
With the recent Army Corps of Engineer’s Environmental Impact Study being labelled as inherently flawed and wholly inadequate by respected organizations such as the NRDC and the obvious interests of the Save Bristol Bay campaign, it’s time to make voices heard. No project ever goes flawlessly. We know this as humans. I do my best to see both sides of a conflict, but when it comes to matters of the environment versus the personal gain of a few individuals whom already possess the means to undertake such an environmentally devastating project, my decision is very simple.
We will continue to fight the good fight! Have a fantastic weekend!
It seems like an eternity ago, and in a sense it was. In February I traveled with Kevin Raber and Rockhopper Tours to Antarctica. So much has happened in the relatively short time since then that I very nearly forgot about this trip, filled with abundant wildlife and stunning landscapes.
A highlight was a massive iceberg we cruised by at dinner time. Everyone was deep in their dishes when I jumped up, grabbed my camera and ran off. A krill-red smear announced the presence of Chinstrap and gentoo penguins. Against the blue of the iceberg, it was a rich sign of life in this arresting landscape.
Seals, orcas, petrels and some minke whales also came to escort us along our cruise aboard the ship. Enjoy the photos – if you have any questions about them, join me on Thursday for another live episode of Tequila Time with Art and ask away!
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to vote on the New Big 5 of wildlife! British journalist & photographer Graeme Green has been hard at work creating this new international initiative to create a new Big 5 of wildlife photography, bringing awareness to the plight of wildlife everywhere.
And what are my Big Five? You’ll find out if you listen to this quick podcast!
And there are many others to listen to as well from other top nature photographers from around the world.
We are living in some crazy times, aren’t we? My thoughts are with you while we navigate all of this, and I’m heartened by what I’ve seen and heard of communities supporting one and other. How about just a little bit of bright news for the day?
The California Condor was down to just 27 individuals in 1987 due to lead poisoning (eating carrion containing lead shot), habitat loss and poaching. At that point an emergency was declared and every wild individual was captured and put into captive breeding programs in two zoos in California. Chicks were hatched and raised and several years later they began the delicate process of reintroducing them to the wild.
Today there are over 300 individuals in the wild with another 200 in captivity, and in 2019 the 1,000 chick was born in the wild in Zion National Park! This is fantastic news and shows just how powerfully we can impact the survival of species world-wide.
I am thrilled to join some of the world’s most renowned photographers in the new Art for Wildlife Rangers sale hosted by Global Wildlife Conservation and administered by Tusk Trust. Rangers protect 30% of the planet, and are critical to helping us address the twin crises of climate change and species extinctions.
