Home
Donate Sign up for e-network
CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Because life is good
ABOUT ACTION PROGRAMS SPECIES NEWSROOM PUBLICATIONS SUPPORT

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

AcTIVIST SPOTLIGHT


Zooming in on Conservation

Jenny E. Ross knows the power of a good image to help save the planet. Since 2000, she’s been using her immense talent as a nature photographer to draw attention to the importance of wildlife conservation and ecosystem protection.

A participant in conservation projects worldwide, Ross has photographed a humongous variety of wildlife species and ecosystems, from the African savannah to tropical rainforests to the Arctic. She’s especially enchanted with bears: For a number of years, she’s been collaborating with scientists studying and working to conserve the world’s eight bear species. Her long-term work documenting the natural history of polar bears and their plight in the face of global warming has led her to begin a book about the Arctic and the growing effects of climate change on the region’s ecosystems, wildlife, and people. She’s also writing a book and creating an exhibit on the history, problematic status, and uncertain future of California’s Salton Sea ecosystem, which is crucial wetland habitat for millions of birds and numerous imperiled species. In 2007 Ross received the Philip Hyde Award for Environmental Photography for her Salton Sea project. This year, she’s the winner of the Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Award for wildlife photography — thanks to her poignant photo of twin polar bear cubs curled together in a snow den.

Ross has been a great friend to the Center over the years, not only granting us the use of striking wildlife photographs but also providing several standing declarations for our polar bear litigation based on her observations and experiences in the Arctic.

“I feel an overwhelming obligation to make a personal contribution toward preserving the irreplaceable ecosystems and wildlife that we may soon lose forever,” Ross declares. “I strive to use photography as a tool to educate and inspire people regarding threatened ecosystems and wildlife . . . and to motivate action for conservation.”

Check out Ross’s work at her Web site.

Want to share your story in our Activist Spotlight?
A sea change can begin with an award-winning photographer — or maybe, it can begin with you. If you or someone you know has found a creative way to turn concern for the planet — and for endangered plants and animals — into change for the better, we'd like to share your story with the world. Send us your spotlight idea here.

And check out other activists we've honored here.

BECOME A BIODIVERSITY ACTIVIST

CURRENT ACTION ALERTS

TELL-A-FRIEND

TAKE-ACTION TOOLBOX

EVENTS

SUPPORT THE CENTER

Bald eagle © Robin Silver;
Jenny E. Ross © Anne Chadwick