Wildlife photographer shares conservation goals

Paul Bannick, wildlife photographer and Conservation Northwest development director:

"When trying to get people's attention to conservation, I realized with photographs that I got a lot more response when there was the reflection of light in the eyes of an important animal in that habitat, so then I was drawn more to the creatures, particularly the ones that are indicator species who told us that something was going right or something was going wrong in a particular habitat....

"The challenge becomes to get there before the animal gets there, to anticipate its arrival and behavior, so that I can capture a surprising moment that people might not expect, that makes people stop and wonder. And I'm hoping in that a moment of wonder, I instill in them a desire to learn more, and when they learn more, they appreciate the animal, and when they appreciate the animal, they come to love that animal and we always protect what we love....

"Conservation Northwest is this one organization with a focus on the issue most important and that is connecting broad landscapes. Animals have core areas, but if we only protect core areas eventually we're going to have little genetic diversity. We need populations to mix between core areas, so if we are able to connect core areas, animals can not only able to move to keep populations healthy but as habitats change - and all habitats do - if the landscapes are connected, wildlife can move to the new habitat. Every habitat is ephemeral - a wetland or woodland - it changes character. If we protect only that one place then the animals are doomed. But if we protect the bigger landscape then wildlife can find the appropriate home, especially important in a period of climate change, when animals will need to move north or to higher-elevation habitat.

"The second big issue for Conservation Northwest that ties into connectivity but is an issue getting a lot of attention lately, is we're looking at recovery of wolves. We're looking at wolf recovery not just because it is a beautiful and fascinating animal, but because wolves help add really important functionality to the ecosystem.

"One of the challenges that ecosystems in North America face is there is not proper tree regeneration because ungulates tend to stay in one place and eat down that emergent growth.  When wolves come back, suddenly the deer, elk, and moose are more alert on the land. They don't stay as long in one spot and we gain have a greater diversity of trees ages, which means animals needing regeneration of trees -like owls and woodpeckers and many other animals - have those trees coming up for future generations. The wolves change everything.

"We recognize that wolves are controversial, and people feel threatened. We don't discount that. We want to work with ranchers, farmers, and people who feel they have something at stake, so that we can recover wolves and we can help people learn to live with wolves."