Conservation

"...no human ever craves concrete or steel..."

What exactly is nature conservation?

Most every company is proactive in mentioning it these days. Evidently I’m no different, as here I am devoting an entire section of my website to the topic!

While I can only speak for myself, when I think of conservation, I think about the wildest of spaces, and how crucial it is to keep them wild.

See, in my mind, everything in our world fits into one of two categories: God-made or man-made. I don’t believe it is any surprise that no human ever craves concrete or steel, but that we all crave the ocean, a river, or our favorite mountain vista. The natural world around us—Creation—is where our desires lie. There is a reason why a basic sandwich or snack, when eaten on a hike or during a picnic in our favorite park, suddenly becomes the best food we've ever eaten. We're in our true element outdoors, not indoors.

Visiting a zoo and seeing a giraffe or bison or lion is great—until you’re able to witness the same species in the wild. Afterwards, it will be difficult to ever become excited about seeing one in captivity. A perfectly manicured palm tree at an upscale real estate development alongside a concrete curb can be beautiful—but it is easily surpassed by any never-trimmed palm on any beach anywhere. 

Unfortunately, partially out of necessity, and partially out of greed, our natural spaces in their original God-made glory are dwindling. There just aren’t many left. Even many of our protected spaces aren’t in their original condition, but have only been protected after being altered by man. 

So, for me, conservation is about protecting the wild places and wild things that we all cherish and crave. 

Our world and lives are complex. If you’re like me and live in Florida, chances are high that fairly often you drive by a recently clear-cut patch of land that was previously filled with pines and palmettos or palms. A real estate developer viewed the parcel as a real estate transaction and only in terms of ROI. That is short-term thinking. 

No one has ever visited a real estate development decades after it was developed and said, "Thank God this was built!"

However, how regularly must visitors to places like Grand Teton National Park state the opposite phrase? "Thank God these mountains and Jackson Hole weren't developed" is certainly uttered almost continuously by park visitors.  

In Costa Rica I learned an expression that many locals ascribe to: “a tree left standing is worth infinitely more than one cut down.”

People don’t visit places like Florida’s gulf coast or Jackson Hole for beautiful accommodations and trendy shops. They visit for the natural beauty; everything else is ancillary. What will happen, then, when the balance is permanently tilted, and too much of the natural environment is replaced with condos and shopping centers that all look alike? 

The natural Creation will have been destroyed for a short-term financial gain, and future generations will never get to enjoy the beautiful sights we can enjoy today. Have a conversation with any elder person that grew up at or near your favorite beach or mountain retreat, and I’m positive they can share endless saddening stories about the changes that have already occurred.

I want to do what I can to help conserve the wild places and wild creatures that God blessed us with. I’m confident that he didn’t create so many unique environments and species solely for us to destroy them or hunt them to extinction. 

I have no problem with responsible development. We all need shelter, but perhaps the poor real estate developer could manage to leave a few trees standing instead of clear-cutting acres at a time. 

I have no problem with responsible hunting. But some species are just highly special and deserve special protections. A cow is not the same as an elephant or a bear. If you’re not convinced, I'd love to show you some of my work. Or, better yet, observe them in the wild and make eye contact with them. You will be forever changed.

Conservation will be an evolving focus of mine with my work. As I visit new places and as I learn new things, I’m sure my goals will change. That’s only natural. For now, though, I’m dutifully researching organizations to partner with. In the coming months, I hope that each capture I release will have a listed beneficiary organization that is doing wonderful work relevant to the subject of the capture. Each purchase will result in a financial gift being given to the organization in your honor. 

We’ve all been blessed differently, and accordingly, each of us has different responsibilities and opportunities to do good. My sincere hope is that my art helps everyone who sees it to have a greater appreciation for God, His Creation, and to have an increased desire to do what they can to protect and conserve it. With this new focus, I’ll be able to directly make an immediate impact—but only with your help.

Beneficiaries will only consist of organizations that I’ve personally observed and/or worked with. While I’m certainly not an accountant or auditor, I’ve seen these groups doing great things, and am as confident as I can possibly be that they’ll be great stewards of all donations received. I may not agree with every position they take or statement they make, but I believe enough in the work that they do that I’m willing to set aside differences in favor of common ground. 

Thanks for reading. It means a lot to me that you share my passion for the wonderful Creation around us. I’m just one person that loves nature and photography, but I’m confident that together we can make a difference. 

Naturally Yours,