Joel Sartore Joel Sartore

National Geographic Photographer and Speaker

Keyword: Development

Photo: Houses fill the desert canyon in the St. George/Washington Utah area.

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Houses fill the desert canyon in the St. George/Washington Utah area. This is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state.

Photo: The rare salt wort, a plant that only exists in the rare inland salt marshes of northern Lancaster County, Nebraska.

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The rare salt wort, a plant that only exists in the rare inland salt marshes of northern Lancaster County, Nebraska. Its habitat is being threatened by development. The wort is part of the same ecosystem as the Salt Creek tiger beetle, a candidate for a federal endangered species listing.

Photo: Ranchers Chris Velasquez and Linn Blancett move gattle out of a gas compressor station in the rain near Aztec, NM. Pollution and runoff from coal bed methane wells has contaminated their water wells and is slowly driving them out of business.

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Ranchers Chris Velasquez and Linn Blancett move gattle out of a gas compressor station in the rain near Aztec, NM. Pollution and runoff from coal bed methane wells has contaminated their water wells and is slowly driving them out of business.

Photo: Six-man football in Chester, NE offers everybody, even 82-pound freshmen, a chance to play.

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Six-man football in Chester, NE offers everybody, even 82-pound freshmen, a chance to play.

Photo: The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild.

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The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild. It is on the emergency list for federal protection, but that may come too late.

Photo: Salt Creek tiger beetles mating in northern Lancaster County, Nebraska.

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Salt Creek tiger beetles mating in northern Lancaster County, Nebraska. The insect only exists in this rare inland saline marsh, and is threatened by development.

Photo: The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild.

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The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild. It is on the emergency list for federal protection, but that may come too late.

Photo: The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild.

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The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild. It is on the emergency list for federal protection, but that may come too late.

Photo: The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild.

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The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild. It is on the emergency list for federal protection, but that may come too late.

Photo: Salt Creek tiger beetles mating in northern Lancaster County, Nebraska.

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Salt Creek tiger beetles mating in northern Lancaster County, Nebraska. The insect only exists in this rare inland saline marsh, and is threatened by development.

Photo: Entomologist Steve Spomer walks down the bank of Salt Creekin northern Lancaster County, Nebraska, looking for the Salt Creek tiger beetle.

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Entomologist Steve Spomer walks down the bank of Salt Creekin northern Lancaster County, Nebraska, looking for the Salt Creek tiger beetle. The insect only exists in this rare inland saline marsh, and is threatened by development.

Photo: Salt Creek tiger beetles mating in northern Lancaster County, Nebraska.

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Salt Creek tiger beetles mating in northern Lancaster County, Nebraska. The insect only exists in this rare inland saline marsh, and is threatened by development.

Photo: Entomologist Steve Spomer walks down the bank of Salt Creekin northern Lancaster County, Nebraska, looking for the Salt Creek tiger beetle.

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Entomologist Steve Spomer walks down the bank of Salt Creekin northern Lancaster County, Nebraska, looking for the Salt Creek tiger beetle. The insect only exists in this rare inland saline marsh, and is threatened by development.

Photo: The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild.

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The Salt Creek tiger beetle is found only in northern Lancaster County, NE, and is down to less than a thousand individuals in the wild. It is on the emergency list for federal protection, but that may come too late.

Photo: A salmon counter at the Bonneville Dam tracks the species as it moves through the Columbia River system.

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A salmon counter at the Bonneville Dam tracks the species as it moves through the Columbia River system.

Photo: A methane fire burns under a rancher's land near Decker, MT. The underground water that once kept the flame in check has been drained off during coal bed methane development, so the fire now shows at the surface.

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A methane fire burns under a rancher’s land near Decker, MT. The underground water that once kept the flame in check has been drained off during coal bed methane development, so the fire now shows at the surface.

Photo: A methane fire burns under a rancher's land near Decker, MT. The underground water that once kept the flame in check has been drained off during coal bed methane development, so the fire now shows at the surface.

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A methane fire burns under a rancher’s land near Decker, MT. The underground water that once kept the flame in check has been drained off during coal bed methane development, so the fire now shows at the surface.

Photo: A mule deer in the back of a young hunter's pickup truck in Montana in the Rocky Mountain Front area.

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A mule deer in the back of a young hunter’s pickup truck in Montana in the Rocky Mountain Front area. The wildlife-rich area is slated for coal bed methane development.

Photo: A flare erupts at a natural gas well near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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A flare erupts at a natural gas well near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: The BLM office in Buffalo, WY approved 3000 natural gas drilling permits in 2004, generating a small mountain of paperwork.

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The BLM office in Buffalo, WY approved 3000 natural gas drilling permits in 2004, generating a small mountain of paperwork.

Photo: Misters send the water drained off during coal bed methane drilling airborne on a development near Gillette, WY.

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Misters send the water drained off during coal bed methane drilling airborne on a development near Gillette, WY.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Wells are tightly spaced in the Jonah Field, a natural gas development near Pinedale, WY.

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Wells are tightly spaced in the Jonah Field, a natural gas development near Pinedale, WY.

Photo: The well on private land near Sheridan, WY produces nothing but mud and methane gas these days, due to a depletion in the aquifer caused by coal bed methane development.

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The well on private land near Sheridan, WY produces nothing but mud and methane gas these days, due to a depletion in the aquifer caused by coal bed methane development.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Lightning illuminates the sky over Adobe Town in Wyoming's Red Desert area.

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Lightning illuminates the sky over Adobe Town in Wyoming’s Red Desert area. Once proposed for a wilderness designation, the area is now slated for coal bed methane development.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

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Natural gas drilling and development near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Photo: Hunters with their day's take, a mule deer, near Choteau, MT. Outdoorsmen have joined forces with environmentalists on the Rocky Mountain front to protect the region from coal bed methane drilling.

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Hunters with their day’s take, a mule deer, near Choteau, MT. Outdoorsmen have joined forces with environmentalists on the Rocky Mountain front to protect the region from coal bed methane drilling.

Photo: Julie Jensen Director of Marketing | WVC O: 866.800.7326 | D: 702.443.9249 | E: j.jensen@wvc.org

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