Morgan Heim (USA) follows the story of those trying to save the northern spotted owl through controversial means.
Caught in the beam of infrared light in a mixed conifer forest in California, the northern spotted owl looks vulnerable - and it is!
Numbers of these owls have crashed by at least 65% since 2005. One of the causes - the bigger, bolder barred owl. Not only are barred owls predating and breeding with the northern spotted owls they’re also outcompeting them for food and space.
But this isn’t the first time this species has been threatened. Prior to the timber wars between environmentalists and loggers in the 1980s, which led to the protection of 9.6 million hectares of federal land, the forests they called home were all but destroyed.
USA
Morgan is a wildlife photojournalist, filmmaker and adventurer focusing on the ways human-influenced environmental change impacts wildlife. In 2020, she co-launched Her Wild Vision Initiative, which is aimed at raising the voices of diverse women in the craft of conservation visual storytelling. Morgan is a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, and her work has appeared in National Geographic, Audubon, Smithsonian and the New York Times.
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