Posted by Florian – June 27, 2009
In the Presence of Bears
Grizzly country of the Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park
There is nothing that gives more to the sense of place of wilderness, than the presence of a grizzly bear. Imagine the Rocky Mountain landscape without the great bear. It is, as if the landscape has lost part of its soul. Most of the western states have suffered this fate. Grizzlies have lost over 90% of their former range. Now their most important enclave in the lower 48 is at stake. It is the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the adjacent Flathead River Valley, that conservationists have been trying to protect for years.
Encounters with the King of the Mountains
Rocky Mountain Grizzly in the alpine meadows of the Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park
FROM MY BOOK: YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON – FREEDOM TO ROAM:
” ….I was sitting on a high alpine slope, looking over mountain lakes and ranges. It was a peaceful September day. Flocks of migrating water pipits fluttered by, filling the air with their soft calls, while golden eagles shot through the skies above me, arching in acrobatic grace. It was late afternoon, and slowly the mountain cast a shadow of blue light over me. I had been on that alpine ridge for days, waiting for something to happen. I was watching a large bighorn sheep when I noticed that it had become quite alert. I turned my head, following the direction of its gaze. My eyes met with those of
a silver-tipped grizzly.
It was as if the mountain wall had simply given birth to the grizzly—it appeared that quickly and silently from out of the blue light. In a single instant, it seemed the whole mountain came alive, vibrating with anticipation. In awe I sat there, watching the magnificent creature digging for roots. I knew he was aware of my presence—the wind had long since carried my scent over to him. Slowly the bear came closer, and everything seemed to fall into a hush. Silence filled the place, as if the whole world was
holding its breath, watching the king of the mountains enter the stage . . .” —F.S.
Imagine the American West without the grizzly bear. THE WEST is a great part of America`s history and identity. It needs to keep the symbol of the west alive. This struggle over Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park goes far beyond the status of ” A PARK IN DANGER”. It is about the WILDLIFE GATEWAY between the USA and Canada. The Flathead River Valley can be seen as a “Wildlife Superhighway”, where moose, wolves, grizzlies, black bears, lynx and wolverine move across political border as well as in and out of protection. Such north-south running valleys are extremely rare and the Flathead is one of a kind that still offers wild-land qualities that animals depend on.
Get involved and send your message to the Canada’s Minister of the Environment. We need to protect this place for the grizzlies! If you have not already read some more about the issue on my blog: Canada selling out World Treasures!
Y2Y Wildlife Corridors Book
My book: Yellowstone to Yukon – Freedom to Roam has a wonderful collection of essays by Dr. David Suzuki, Douglas Chadwick, Karsten Heuer, David Quammen, Rick Bass, Ted Kerasote and other great contributors, that look at the dream of a interconnected ecosystem with functioning wildlife corridors from many different angles.
Get the BOOK
Posted in: Adventure, Conservation, Experience, Photography, wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged: Conservation, conservation photography, flathead river, Freedom to Roam, grizzly bears, National Parks, waterton glacier international peace park, wilderness, Wildlife, wildlife photography
Posted by Florian – June 23, 2009
Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields
Strong winds and dense fog did not allow us to set up a base-camp at Teshekpuk Lake. I had hoped to cover the area around the lake because of plans to open up vast parts of the lake to oil drilling. In 2006 the Department of the Interior sold leases to 500 000 acres in and around Teshekpuk Lake.
It already is late in the afternoon and the fog sealing is slowly lowering. We decide to fly out towards Prodhoe Bay. Because of the strong wind we fly extremely low over the ground to where we gain a few miles an hour in speed. It does not take long and we see the first man-made structure: a test well. This is only the beginning. For the next 60 miles we see one industrial structure after another.
People often only envision a small developed spot in the arctic landscape around the Prudhoe Bay area. The truth is, that the Prodhoe Bay Oilfield is the biggest oilfield in North America. The main operating companies are PB, Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil.
Most of the activity happens in the midst of winter while it is easier to move equipment across the frozen tundra. While the industry is using special tires to keep down the damages, I see long tracks in “vergin” landscapes made by the heavy machinery. Those tracks are encrouching on the Teshekpuk Lake area, one of the most important arctic bird habitat in the world.
Oilfield developments stretch for over 100 miles from the Colville to the Canning River
I will try to cover more of the habitat and wildlife at Teshekpuk Lake over the next weeks as the weather gives us a break. Teshekpuk Lake is such an important ecological gem, that oil development simply must not go forward. Stay tuned!
Posted in: Conservation, Expeditions, Uncategorized, wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged: Arctic, bids, Conservation, Freedom to Roam, industry, oil, oil field, prudhoe bay, wilderness
Posted by Emil – June 15, 2009
Shot with the Nikon D3 and 14-24mm lens
Came back to Anchorage few days ago after a short overflight on a bush plane. We started in Anchorage flying towards Katmai Park, covering Cook Inlet, along the Chigmit Mountains, and in between landing in Urus Cove and Bruin Bay to document the incredible views that volcano Augustin offers from most of the places we explored. We found lots of harbor seals, grizzly bears and black brants flying over the mud flats. It is just so incredible to see, how the landscape takes up on a complete different shape when seeing it from the air.
Exploring Alaska with a Wilga. Emil short after landing, takes a good stretch. Volcano Agustine in the background viewed from Ursus Cove.
Augustine Volcano - Nikon D3x with 24-70mm F2.8 lens
We also covered Lake Iliamna and on the way back Florian took some interesting abstract pictures of Lake Clark and its mixed glacial and fresh water patterns. Stayed tuned for more updates on the aerial work that Florian will be doing in the north!
ESPAÑOL
Y como buena Mexicana, no me puede faltar de vez en cuando, una traducción breve sobre nuestras aventuras en el Norte.
Regresamos a Anchorage hace unos dias. Fue una experiencia increible poder sobrevolar una parte de la costa sur de Alaska, especificamente Cook Inlet, que esta escoltado por las montañas Chigmit. Fue un vuelo innolvidable porque vimos mucha vida salvaje desde el aire, y la manera en la que el paisaje cambia cuando lo ves desde esta perspectiva es fascinante. Descubrimos un grupo de focas anilladas, osos grizzlies y un tipo de ganso negro, bellisimo que estaban migrando al norte.
En estas fotos me pueden ver volando en una avioneta Wilga, con unas ventanas panoramicas increibles que te dejaban ver para todos lados. Sí vamos a estar apretados, mejor no sentirse claustrofobicos, no? Florian viajo siempre en la parte de atras para poder abrir la ventana y yo venia de aeromoza repartiendo bebidas y alimentos… y encargada de la foto familiar. Ja! Mas abajo, pueden verme estirar mis piernas con la hermosa vista del Volcán Agustin, en la Bahia del Oso. Y por ultimo un piloncito de foto que Florian tomo mientras yo tomaba la foto familiar en la avioneta.
Mantenganse al tanto para nuevo material que estaremos subiendo de nuestras proximas expediciones.
Posted in: Adventure, Expeditions, Photography | Tagged: Aerial, Alaska, B2B, Bush Plane, Coastal, Emil, Explore, Florian, nikon, Nikon D3x, People, Photography, Pilot Ken, wilderness, Wilga
Posted by Florian – June 13, 2009
A few days ago my friend Patricio Robles Gil asked me to write a few sentences about what wilderness means to me. I was based in Kotzebue at the time doing aerial work to document America`s Western Arctic. It is a huge wilderness area that not very many people know about – but let me get to that in another post……
Between the shoots and the editing I sat down and asked myself that very simple question. Coming up with an answer in a few sentences was not that easy. After-all Wilderness is the reason, why I became a nature photographer. Wilderness is the reason why I wanted to be an exchange student and come to America as a teenager. With over eighty million people in a country smaller than the state of Montana, there is little room for wilderness. As wilderness had disappeared in Germany, I longed to explore it in the American continent. The word wilderness envelops so many promises, feelings, memories and emotions for me, that is hard to define. But here is what I came up with:
WILDERNESS
“………… is a place, where my imagination can wonder into a world not dominated by mankind, where my eyes can rest over virgin landscapes and where wildlife has the freedom to roam. True wilderness is a window into an ancient world in balance. It serves as a reminder, that we humans are only one single species in this incredible web of life. Nowhere else but in wilderness do I feel more alive!”
WHAT DOES WILDERNESS MEAN TO YOU?
Visions of the