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GBI Media Contest June 2022 Submissions, Part 1

GBI Media Contest June 2022 Submissions, Part 1

The theme for June’s media contest was “The Power of Nature.” This can, of course, be taken many different ways, and our field personnel did not disappoint in providing a broad array of views into how this manifests itself in our wild spaces. June’s winner is Research Associate Rebecca Finnegan, who is serving as Compliance Archivist at Zion National Park. Of the image above she writes, “Somewhere over the rainbow takes on a whole new meeting in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.”

We received so many great images that we’ll again be dividing our submissions into two galleries. Scroll down for the first.


Michael Snead, Research Associate, Wildlife Technician, Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. “This bee feeding on a Knapweed plant symbolizes the outsized impact that a tiny creature can have on an ecosystem.”

Tessa O’Grady, Research Associate, Botany Technician, Klamath/Shasta-Trinity National Forest BAER. “Silene salmonacea or Klamath Mountain Catfly, being visited by a pollinator in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. We found this endemic species in multiple locations while surveying for invasive species in recent burned forest.”

Megan Richie (Gross), Research Associate, Abandoned Mine Lands Crew Lead, Luckie Study Center at Joshua Tree. “Spring flower blooms in the desert are uniquely magical. Not every flower season is the same so when there is an exceptional wildflower bloom, it’s the talk of the town and truly shows the power of water in nature. This photo was taken during the 2019 super loom at the park’s research and study center.”

Sanja Zelen, AmeriCorps, Rangeland/Botany Tech, Bass Lake Ranger District. “Thousands of lady bugs soared, socialized, and sunbathed on corn lilies on a sunny late-spring day in Gaggs Meadow.”

Allie Nowicki, AmeriCorps, Biological Technician, Camas National Wildlife Refuge. “Sunset on a windy night at the refuge turned the sky purple and orange. This is the view from the bunkhouse I am living in as a Biological Technician for six months.”

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