With Terry’s encouragement and support, including the use of his photo gear, I have been spending the entire month of May doing photography at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Oregon.

The Refuge Headquarters staff are an outstanding group of people to work with.  Not only do I truly like these folks, I admire them for the work they do to manage Malheur with wildlife as the first priority. It wasn’t always so; but now the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (2013) is in place and it is taken seriously around here. The evidence of this refocus on wildlife is becoming increasingly evident on the refuge.

For the first time in the 21 years since I first visited Malheur NWR I feel positive and encouraged by the trends I see to manage the entire refuge as a whole ecosystem. Hopefully, the days of knee-jerk management for just one or another species are past. At last, a plan is in place that addresses the long-term health of the entire system. It is good sense.

In appreciation for staff and volunteers, I produced a short slide show highlighting some of my photo subjects and experiences. For those who attended the presentation at  Malheur Headquarters and expressed a desire to view the images again at their muse, I am posting that program here. Hopefully, others can also enjoy this review of “Malheur in May – 2015.”

Special thanks to Chad Karges (Refuge Manager), Carey Goss (Visitor Services Manager), Tami Perry (Administrative Officer),  and Jess Wenick (Habitat Ecologist). They have provided me all the resources and accommodations needed to make this a photo adventure beyond my greatest expectations.