National Wildlife Magazine: National Wildlife Federation’s award-winning, full-color nature magazine!

Treatment of America's wild creatures and places through full-color photo galleries, natural history features, outdoor adventure articles and news items of ecological concern. Conservation-minded magazine of nature and the environment. (Amazon.com)

The National Wildlife Federation is the largest American conservation organization, with over 5 million members and supporters in 47 state-affiliated organizations; its annual budget is over $125 million as of 2006. Its mission statement is: "inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future."

FEATURES
Photo Contest Winners
By Hannah Schardt
From a cardinal splashing in a birdbath to a leopard lurking in the delta, the winning images of the 38th annual National Wildlife Photo Contest are as varied as the planet's species
 
Saving the Forest for the Trees
By Laura Tangley
While scientists debate the future of tropical forests in a warmer world, there’s no question that protecting these biologically rich habitats is key to combating climate change
 
Passion with a Purpose
By Mark Wexler
With help from NWF, a Conservation Photographer of the Year is using an innovative approach to teach young children about global warming

Read National Wildlife Magazine, Dec/Jan 2009 Online

About This Issue
By Mark Wexler, Editorial Director

Taking Photography Seriously

WHEN WE BEGAN promoting our 38th annual photo contest in January, we expected a response similar to last year’s competition, when readers submitted nearly 16,000 images. But a funny thing happened on the way to this year’s deadline: As word of the contest spread through the Internet and other sources, the number of entrants increased dramatically. By the time we stopped accepting submissions last summer, people had sent in more than 55,000 photographs.

As you can imagine, examining each of those images was a time-consuming endeavor—and a daunting task. This year, the quality of the entries was extraordinary and the judges had a tough time winnowing down the field to fewer than 100 finalists. From those, the magazine staff selected first- and second-place winners in six categories in the amateur and professional divisions, and in the youth division.

This year’s grand-prize winner is Christian Ziegler, who used multiple electronic flashes and a slow exposure to photograph a sequence of a greater bulldog bat catching prey in Panama’s Gatun Lake. You can see his remarkable image and several other prize-winning photos in our photo contest feature. To view all of the winners and finalists, visit our website at www.nwf.org/photozone.

Panama is one of 15 countries where scientists have established 25 permanent research plots to monitor the survival and growth of thousands of tree species as part of an intensive effort to study tropical rain forests. In this issue, you can read about some recent results of that effort suggesting that, contrary to conventional wisdom, tropical forests may not be acting as a sink for atmospheric carbon—bad news for policymakers grappling with global warming. To read more, see the article “Saving the Forest for the Trees.”

Global warming can be a scary subject for young children, which is why NWF and 2007 Conservation Photographer of the Year Howard Ruby are working together to produce age-appropriate classroom activities for elementary students and lesson plans for teachers. To learn how Ruby’s images of polar bears and other wildlife are being used to help teach kids, see “Passion with a Purpose.”

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