Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America, carved by the wild Snake River on the border of Idaho and Oregon. Photographer Boyd Norton led the battle to save Hells Canyon from a major dam that would have flooded this gorge. He helped draft legislation and testified at Congressional hearings to establish the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and Wilderness.

Two siblings part of an elephant family greet each other.

The Serengeti ecosystem is one of the most famous World Heritage Sites in the world. The Serengeti National Park alone is 5700 square miles in area and, with adjacent reserves such as the Masai Mara in Kenya, the total ecosystem is nearly 10,000 square miles. It is home to the largest land mammal migration on earth. More than two million wildebeests and zebras and other grazers make the migration each year from Masai Mara to Serengeti and back following the rains. Global warming, climate change and destructive developments threaten the survival of this migration.

Endangered black rhinos across Africa. Once numbering in hundreds of thousands, now only 3600 or less survive in the wild. Poaching is rampant across Africa. In less than a decade black rhinos could become extinct in the wild.

Lions of the Serengeti ecosystem. All across Africa lion populations are decreasing rapidly. In the 1980s there were 200,000 or more lions in the continent. Today only 20,000 are estimated across Africa. Serengeti has more than 3000, making it an important repository for this diminishing species.

These photos represent a small selection of published work in books or magazines, plus a few of my personal favorites. Photos from Alaska, Tanzania, Rwanda, Antarctica, Kenya, Komodo Island, Indonesia, Borneo, Ecuador, Venezuela, Utah, Russia, Siberia, Bali, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Peru, England.

Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years), the deepest (over 5700 feet deep) and the largest lake in the world by volume (it holds 20% of all the world's liquid surface fresh water!). Photographer Boyd Norton worked to get Baikal established as a World Heritage Site. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1996.

In the region of the Upper Green River Basin traditional ranch life is threatened by the oil and gas development. These scenes depict ranch environment along the Green River and surrounding areas. Many of these ranchers are planning to put their places into conservation easements to preserve the environment and lifestyle here and to protect against oil and gas development.