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RAVE Photographic Expedition Thru The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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A team of nationally and internationally known photographers from the International League of Conservation Photographers has donated its time to help the Chesapeake Bay Foundation fight to reduce pollution in local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay.
During August they will travel from the headwaters of the Susquehanna River in New York to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to generate compelling visuals—a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition)—that document the issues facing local waterways and generate increased support for the Chesapeake Clean Water Act now before Congress.
“The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure in critical condition as a result of pollution,” said Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, President of the ILCP and leader of the Chesapeake Bay RAVE. “Our goal is to create powerful visual images that will educate the public about the Bay’s plight and support efforts to pass the Chesapeake Clean Water Act.”
RAVEs were conceived of to address the challenges of modern conservation and have been completed around the world. In 2007, the Balandra RAVE in Mexico gave local partners the impetus they needed to help convince officials to halt development and create the Municipal Balandra Conservation Area, which now protects almost 2,100 hectares.
Images from the Bioko RAVE in Equatorial Guinea in 2008 helped Conservation International convince the government to finance their own conservation strategy. The publicity from the RAVE helped push through new legislation that strengthens the ban on the hunting of primates in Equatorial Guinea.
More recently in 2009, an iLCP RAVE in the Flathead River Valley of British Columbia successfully eliminated the threat of mountaintop-removal coal mining in this pristine headwaters area, and helped set the stage for collaborative trans-boundary protections for the Flathead River by the U.S. and Canada.
The iLCP’s mission is to further environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography. “We believe that awe-inspiring photography is a powerful force for the environment, especially when paired with the collaboration of committed scientists, politicians, religious leaders and policy makers,” said Mittermeier. “We plan to replace environmental indifference with a new culture of stewardship and passion for our beautiful planet.”
Follow along with the Chesapeake Bay RAVE postings.
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8/16/2010 |
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