Prairie
Prairies are one of North America’s most threatened and under-appreciated ecosystems. Because most are privately owned, keeping them intact usually requires keeping them profitable to their owners. In my role at the National Audubon Society, I create stories about ranchers who are stewarding prairies for wildlife. Additionally, I use photography to help people recognize the beauty and biodiversity of this overlooked ecosystem.
Sunset over Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado.
A Burrowing Owl stands at Coyote Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado.
A dry creekbed winds through shortgrass prairie on Soapstone Prairie Natural Area in Colorado.
A Horned Lark sinks at sunrise on May Ranch in Colorado.
Larkspurs bloom before a rainbow and thunderstorm at Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Jay Butler, a rancher, stands shortgrass prairie on his ranch in Wyoming.
Lightning flashes at sunset over Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado.
A Broad-tailed Hummingbird feeds on a penstemon in a garden in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Flowers bloom in vernal pool/mounded prairie habitat on The Nature Conservancy's Agate Desert Preserve in southern Oregon.
A crab spider hunts hoverflies on a spiderwort in a tallgrass prairie restored by The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska.
Brad and Heather Reese stand in shortgrass prairie on their Ranch in Wyoming.
A tree cricket clings to a Big Bluestem on in a tallgrass prairie restored by The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska.
Sandhill Cranes roost at sunset on the Platte River during spring migration in Nebraska.