Pixley NWR is one probably only five of us have ever heard of. Located in the lower end of the San Joaquin Valley, it’s the home to a number of endangered critters, the San Joaquin Kit Fox is just one. These six week old pups are staring at the camera because they are looking at their dad. Their dad is enjoying the shade that I and my chair are creating as I sit out in the 101 degree sun.It’s at Pixley where I fell in love with this very charsmatic very endangered critter.One of the first species to be listed as endangered in the US, it’s on the edge of disappearing completely. With less than 5% of its historic range remaining, it literally has no where to run. It’s why in part we have a NWR system and why all this week, entrance is free. Visit the one close to you and take in the wild heritage we were left and responsible to passing on to the next generation!

Ding Darling NWR located on Sanibel Island, FL is an incredibly special mangrove swamp habitat preserved for the unique critters of the south. I originally went there because of the large gathering of Roseatte Spoonbills. This crazy looking bird’s color in spring is crazy pinkish-rose with a long bill that flattens and widens at the end. This specialized wading bird was once hunted to near extinction for its gorgeous plumes made a great comeback. Ding Darling for a long time was an easy and gorgeous place to enjoy this gorgeous bird. Ding Darling has been hit many times since I’ve been venturing to it by hurricanes. Its mangrove swamp habitat is adapted to take the hit. Yeah, there is some damage from the hurricanes but they come back. I’ve not been able to hear about and possible damage from Ian but I can’t wait until 2023 when I’m back down in FL and hope that access to Sanibel is restored so once again I can take in the jewel of the NWR system!

2PM in early spring looks quite different on ANWR. The northern most NWR I think is one of our most treasured and one few have the opportunity to visit. This remote outpost on the edge of the Beaufort Sea well above the Arctic Circle. I’ve only had the good fortune to spend a few weeks on ANWR in a handful of visits over the years but I fell in love with it the first day I stepped out of the plane at Whale Mtn on the Kongakut River. This herd of Caribou can’t even be described as a drop in the bucket when describing the vastness of the herds. I friend too a four image pano with a 500mm lens years back and there isn’t a pixel in the pano that doesn’t have at least five Caribou in it. The herds are that big. To the unvisited it appears to be a vacant, sparse and harsh environment. But take one step personally on ANWR and you find instantly that is far from the truth. It is an incredibly rich, backed, diverse world I so want to spend more time exploring with my camera!

San Francisco Bay and the land and marshes that surrounded it was a biological marvel prior to 1850. We know this because of the very small slice preserved by the SFBay NWR. An unique member of this habitat is the very endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. Weighing less than a nickle, smaller than your pinkie, this mouse can swim drink and eat saltwater. This old, Kodachrome shot came to be but a freak of luck as a woman at the marsh saw the mouse and shreeked. I was shooting there with the 800f5.6 and would I heard this, I stopped traffic as I stood in the road trying to get the shot. In the mean time, Sharon was rushing back to car to get the 300f4AF and ext tube before the mouse disappeared back into the marsh. Lucky for me, it sat eating its pickleweed until I got the lens and made the click. A special member of our wild heritage!