In 2010, as part of the International League of Conservation Photographers’ Chesapeake Bay RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition), I found myself on the Anacostia River in Washington DC. The Anacostia is one of the most imperiled watersheds within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, a sprawling eco-region spanning most of the Mid-Atlantic. The Anacostia is also my home watershed, where the water that drains off my house and yard ends up.
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A true spectacle of biodiversity, freshwater hosts a teeming collage of colors, shapes and behaviors. These flowing waters are essential to life. Yet, as a society dependent upon this vital resource, how often do we look beneath the water’s surface? Over the last ten years, Freshwaters Illustrated has worked to document the vibrancy and wonder of life found in the rivers and streams of Southern Appalachia, North America’s most biologically-rich waters. This unique region harbors the world’s richest temperate fish fauna and is home to the highest diversity of freshwater mussels, snails, crayfish and salamanders on the planet. Highlighting this great variety, Freshwaters Illustrated created its newest feature film, Hidden Rivers, which follows the work of conservation biologists and explorers throughout the region and reveals both the beauty and vulnerability of these ecosystems.
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Mary Jane Gibson, Vice President of the NANPA Foundation Board of Trustees announces the results of a challenge grant at the 2019 Nature Photography Summit.
During NANPA’s recent Nature Photography Summit and Trade Show in Las Vegas, one bunch of photographers always seemed to be especially hard at work, energized and excited. These young people were participants in the NANPA Foundation’s Summit College Scholarship Program and their week in Las Vegas was packed with learning, growing, creating, networking and having fun.
Their assignment: develop a story-telling project which would be shown during the Summit.
Photo by David Small
The end of a year signals a time for reflection of the past months as well as anticipation of what’s ahead. As I review 2018 for NANPA, I’m amazed at the variety and number of events and services offered for a relatively small organization. Everything we do is coordinated by a handful of part-time contractors and around 100 volunteers.
Cullinan Ranch levee breach – The 1500 acre Cullinan Ranch was purchased by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as part of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 1991. It was diked off from tidal action and drained in the 1800’s to grow oat hay. It is now being restored for endangered species and other wildlife.
As photographers, many of us are good at telling our conservation stories through imagery. We use our photos to support projects that protect or restore the earth, its ecosystems, and inhabitants. Philip Hyde was a pioneer in using photographs for conservation and I have long admired his achievements. A native Californian, he was passionate about protecting the American West, and his photographs were influential in many conservation campaigns.
Susan Day at NANPA board meeting, Jacksonsville, FL. Photo by David Small.
Meetings are a necessary evil. Few people will confess to liking them, but for groups like NANPA with members who, at any given time, are scattered throughout the world; meetings are a means of keeping us connected to one another. To keep in touch, NANPA’s board, committee members, contractors, membership, and the nature photography community rely on virtual, teleconference, social media, and in-person meetings to function and flourish.
Great blue heron on the Anacostia River, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens National Park, Washington, D.C. © Krista Schlyer
As the 2016 recipient of the Philip Hyde Grant, I encourage all NANPA members engaged in a conservation photography project to apply. I was awarded the grant from the NANPA Foundation in support of my Anacostia Project, which aims to help residents of Washington, D.C. better understand and get engaged in restoration of the beleaguered Anacostia River watershed.
The Anacostia River, long known as the forgotten river, has, like so many of our urban rivers, suffered centuries of abuse and ecological insult–from deforestation for tobacco production in the 1700s, to toxins and sewage that accompanied a rapidly growing population ever since. Continue reading