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  • Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) photographed along the Fox Creek Trail near trail marker 53. Introduced from Europe, mullein is typically found in well-lit, disturbed and or rocky areas. The hairy, biennial plant was used by American Indians for a variety of medicinal uses including the treatment of colds, coughs, bronchitis, asthma and rheumatism. The plant produces flowers which only bloom for a single day. The flowers of the plant self-pollinate if they are not pollinated during the single day that a flower blooms. This plant was photographed in the lowland prairie area  along Fox Creek in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills. The National Park Service is restoring the lowland prairie from agricultural use to its natural state. Bottomland (floodplain) prairies are rare because most have been plowed for farming. Bottomland prairies provide deep soil, allowing prairie grasses and other plants to grow much taller than on the upland prairie. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Common mullein.jpg
  • The tiny white flowers of heath aster are contrasted against the prairie grasses in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve on a fall day. Heath aster is one of the last plants to remain in flower in the fall. It has deep roots which can be three to eight feet below the surface. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Heath aster.jpg
  • The dry remains of the flower heads of aster wildflowers light up during a fall sunset at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Fall sunset on tallgrass prairie ast...jpg
  • The dry remains of the flower heads of aster wildflowers and other prairie grasses and plants light up during a fall sunset at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Fall sunset on tallgrass prairie wil...jpg
  • The dry remains of the flower heads of aster wildflowers light up during a fall sunset at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Fall sunset on tallgrass prairie ast...jpg
  • The dry remains of the flower heads of aster wildflowers and other prairie grasses and plants light up during a fall sunset at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Fall sunset on tallgrass prairie ast...jpg
  • The dry remains of the flower heads of aster wildflowers and other prairie grasses and plants light up during a fall sunset at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Fall sunset on tallgrass prairie ast...jpg
  • Native wildflowers are mixed in with prairie grasses in this scene taken in the lowland prairie along Fox Creek in the tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Pictured are butterfly milkweed (orange flowers), common spiderwort (purple flowers), and Philadelphia fleabane (white flowers). The National Park Service is restoring the lowland prairie from agricultural use to its natural state. Bottomland (floodplain) prairies are rare because most have been plowed for farming. Bottomland areas provide deep soil, allowing prairie grasses and other plants to grow much taller than on the upland prairie. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Fox Creek Trail wildflowers.jpg
  • Purple coneflowers, also known as Black-sampson echinacea prefer the rocky dry soil of prairies as these flowers do in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the the Kansas Flint Hills. Purple coneflowers were used by American Indians as a pain-reducer in treating toothaches, burns, sore throats, mumps and wounds. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Purple coneflower.jpg
  • Butterfly milkweed (orange flowers) and wild alfalfa are some of the wildflowers seen along the Fox Creek Trail in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills. Butterfly milkweed is also known as pleurisy root. It was named this because American Indians and settlers used the plant's roots to treat respiratory illness. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Butterfly milkweed and blue wild ind...jpg
  • A meadow of tall fireweed booms in Brotherhood Bridge Park in Juneau, Alaska. In the background is the Mendenhall Glacier, one of the most accessible glaciers in southeast Alaska. Each year, 465,000 curise ship passengers visit the Mendenhall Glacier.
    Tall fireweed and Mendenhall Glacier.jpg
  • The conflict over putting in a hard-rock mine near the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska took a new turn recently with the filing of a lawsuit by an Alaska Native Tlingit tribe and three environmental groups. The group is suing the Bureau of Land Management, saying that the agency granted mineral exploration permits without considering how a mine could affect the Chilkat River's salmon and the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. <br />
<br />
Joining the Tlingit village of Klukwan in the lawsuit against the BLM are the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Lynn Canal Conservation and Rivers Without Borders. They are represented by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm. The group is asking for mining permits to be revoked.<br />
<br />
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia along with investment partner Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd. of Japan is exploring a site for a mine located just to the right of the pictured Saksaia Glacier (right). The potential mine site is just above Glacier Creek (not visible) and the Klehini River (foreground). This area, known as the Palmer Deposit, is located near the Porcupine placer gold mining area (the low foreground area) below Porcupine Peak (left rear).<br />
<br />
Support for a large scale mine is divided among area residents. The needed economic boost from jobs that a mine brings is tempting to some. To others, anything that might put the salmon spawning and rearing habitat and watershed resources at risk is simply unimaginable and unacceptable. The concern is copper and other heavy metals in mine waste leaching into the Klehini River (shown) and the Chilkat River 14 miles downstream.<br />
<br />
The Chilkat River salmon are the primary food source for one of the largest gatherings of bald eagles in the world. Each fall, bald eagles congregate in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve located only three miles downriver from the area of current exploration.<br />
<br />
EDITORS NOTE: This image is a stitched panorama.
    Porcupine - Constantine Palmer Depos...jpg
  • Kayakers on Chilkoot Lake at the base of Mount Kashagnak are framed by tall fireweed. Chilkoot Lake is a popular fishing, camping and recreation destination near Haines, Alaska and the Lynn Canal. The lake is part of the Chilkoot Lake State Recreational Site and managed by Alaska State Parks. In the upper reaches of the Chilkoot River Valley (not pictured) Alaska Power and Telephone Company (AP&T) proposes to dam the outlet of Connelly Lake, a high alpine lake above the Chilkoot River, for a hydroelectric project. Water from Connelly Lake would be delivered down the mountain to a powerhouse near the Chilkoot River into which the lake water would be discharged. Environmental concerns include the impact construction and project operation would have on fish spawning and rearing habitat (water turbidity issues), and bald eagles. Some of the main features of the proposed Connelly Lake project would be located in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and the Haines State Forest. The Connelly Lake Hydro Aquatic Studies Report for 2012 prepared by the Shipley Group for AP&T states that according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 41 percent of the sockeye salmon in the upper Lynn Canal come from the Chilkoot River with 25 percent of those salmon spawning in the Chilkoot River drainage above Chilkoot Lake. The value of the fishery is estimated at more than $1,000,000 annually. AP&T wants to build the project to replace the undersea cable that supplies Haines with electricity from Skagway.
    Chilkoot Lake kayakers.jpg
  • Daisies envelope a meadow next to the Glacier Bay Country Inn located in Gustavus, Alaska. The southeast Alaska town of Gustavus is located next to Glacier Bay National Park.
    Daisies.jpg
  • Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) blooms across from islands in the Lynn Canal. In the background are the mountains of the Chilkat Range. This view is from a pullout on the Glacier Highway, north of Juneau.
    Fireweed,.jpg
  • Nootka lupine blooms on Kidney Island near a kayaker's wilderness campsite in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve located in the Beardslee Islands of the park in southeast Alaska. EDITORS NOTE: This image is a focus blend image comprised of several images having different planes of focus.
    Nootka lupine campsite.jpg
  • Death Valley National Park Visitors come not only to experience the record heat but also the beauty. Despite the desert conditions, the park is known for its spring wildflowers. Under perfect conditions, the park experiences a rare event known as a wildflower "super bloom" which produces a sea wildflowers. Most of the desert wildflowers are annuals. This ensures their survival as this allows them to lie dormant as seeds during times of drought. Here, a field of Desert Gold, also known as Hairy Desert Sunflower, explodes into a sea of yellow during the super bloom of 2016 in Death Valley National Park. In the background is Corkscrew Peak.<br />
<br />
Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California near the border with Nevada is one of the hottest spots on earth, holding the hottest recorded air temperature of 134 °F. The Park also is location of the lowest spot in North America, 282 feet below sea level at the vast salt flats at Badwater Basin. At 3.4 million acres, the park is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. Death Valley National Park sits between the Panamint Range on the west  and Amargosa Range on the east.
    Desert gold super bloom.jpg
  • Death Valley National Park Visitors come not only to experience the record heat but also the beauty. Despite the desert conditions, the park is known for its spring wildflowers. Under perfect conditions, the park experiences a rare event known as a wildflower "super bloom" which produces a sea wildflowers. Most of the desert wildflowers are annuals. This ensures their survival as this allows them to lie dormant as seeds during times of drought. Pictured here is Desert Gold, also known as Hairy Desert Sunflower, in Death Valley National Park.<br />
<br />
Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California near the border with Nevada is one of the hottest spots on earth, holding the hottest recorded air temperature of 134 °F. The Park also is location of the lowest spot in North America, 282 feet below sea level at the vast salt flats at Badwater Basin. At 3.4 million acres, the park is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. Death Valley National Park sits between the Panamint Range on the west  and Amargosa Range on the east.
    Desert Gold.jpg
  • Ashy sunflower (Helianthus mollis) grows along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Ashy sunflower-2.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star at sunset.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star at sunset.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star-4.jpg
  • Ashy sunflower (Helianthus mollis) grows along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Ashy sunflower on tallgrass prairie-...jpg
  • New Jersey Tea, Ceanothus americanus, blooms near the Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse located in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills. New Jersey Tea was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes, tea, and for tanning hides. The pictured tree is a cottonwood, the state tree of Kansas. The Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse, on the National Historic Register of Historic Places, was built on land donated by cattleman Stephen F. Jones. Built in 1882, the one-room school had its first classes in 1884. Typical enrollment was between one to 19 students of all grades. The school was closed in 1930 and restored in 1968 by the Garden Clubs in the Mid-East District of Kansas. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Lower Fox Creek School with New Jers...jpg
  • Wild strawberry growing in a yard in Haines, Alaska
    Wild strawberry.jpg
  • Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a favorite of monarch butterflies and caterpillars. Monarchs are known for their seasonal lengthy migration, they migrate from the United States and Canada south to California and Mexico for the winter.
    Monarch caterpillar on butterfly wee...jpg
  • Death Valley National Park Visitors come not only to experience the record heat but also the beauty. Despite the desert conditions, the park is known for its spring wildflowers. Under perfect conditions, the park experiences a rare event known as a wildflower "super bloom" which produces a sea wildflowers. Most of the desert wildflowers are annuals. This ensures their survival as this allows them to lie dormant as seeds during times of drought. Pictured here is Desert Gold, also known as Hairy Desert Sunflower, in Death Valley National Park.<br />
<br />
Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California near the border with Nevada is one of the hottest spots on earth, holding the hottest recorded air temperature of 134 °F. The Park also is location of the lowest spot in North America, 282 feet below sea level at the vast salt flats at Badwater Basin. At 3.4 million acres, the park is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. Death Valley National Park sits between the Panamint Range on the west  and Amargosa Range on the east.
    Desert Gold blowing in the wind,.jpg
  • Death Valley National Park Visitors come not only to experience the record heat but also the beauty. Despite the desert conditions, the park is known for its spring wildflowers. Under perfect conditions, the park experiences a rare event known as a wildflower "super bloom" which produces a sea wildflowers. Most of the desert wildflowers are annuals. This ensures their survival as this allows them to lie dormant as seeds during times of drought. Here, Desert Gold, also known as Hairy Desert Sunflower, blooms below the badlands of the Kit Fox Hills in Death Valley National Park.<br />
<br />
Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California near the border with Nevada is one of the hottest spots on earth, holding the hottest recorded air temperature of 134 °F. The Park also is location of the lowest spot in North America, 282 feet below sea level at the vast salt flats at Badwater Basin. At 3.4 million acres, the park is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. Death Valley National Park sits between the Panamint Range on the west  and Amargosa Range on the east.
    Desert Gold super bloom.jpg
  • A reception was held for Rita Reed, photojournalism professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, to celebrate her retirement after 16 years of being on the faculty. <br />
<br />
The event was held on May 10, 2017 in the Cliff and Vi Edom Photojournalism Lab in Lee Hills Hall on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Mo.<br />
<br />
The following is from Reed’s bio posted on the Missouri School of Journalism website: "Rita Reed joined the photojournalism faculty in 2001 after 20 years as a working photojournalist with Star Tribune in Minneapolis and The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She has worked not only on local, regional and national stories, but also internationally in Haiti, Bolivia, Colombia, Taiwan, China and the countries of the former Eastern Block.<br />
<br />
Reed holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an undergraduate degree from Southwest Missouri State University. She was the 1993 recipient of the Nikon Sabbatical Grant for Documentary Photography for the completion of work on a photographic book about gay and lesbian teenagers. Reed maintains an interest in and concern for adolescents and the issues they face. She is the director of the College Photographer of the Year competition.”
    Rita Reed retirement reception-8.jpg
  • A fall frost delicately adheres to the leaves of a butterfly bush in a backyard in Springfield, Mo. Editor's note -- Image is a focus blend/focus stacked image.
    Frost on butterfly bush.jpg
  • Bumblebees collect nectar and pollen from prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Bumblebees and prairie blazing star-...jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star-5.jpg
  • Bumblebees collect nectar and pollen from prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Bumblebees and prairie blazing star.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star-3.jpg
  • A patch of evening primrose (family Onagraceae) blooms on the prairie near Buffalo Creek on the Selman Ranch near Buffalo, and north of Woodward in northwestern Oklahoma. Also pictured is sagebrush (background).
    Evening primrose.jpg
  • A patch of evening primrose (family Onagraceae) blooms on the prairie near Buffalo Creek on the Selman Ranch near Buffalo, and north of Woodward in northwestern Oklahoma. Also pictured is a yucca plant (left).
    Evening primrose and yucca.jpg
  • A visitor to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve passes by a patch of goldenrod during a fall morning hike in the West Traps Pasture of the preserve. Goldenrod is incorrectly associated with hay fever; wind doesn't spread its pollen, insects are responsible. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Goldenrod.jpg
  • Snow-on-the-mountain blooms on the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Avoided by grazing cattle, the plant's milky sap can cause a poison ivy-like skin irritation. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Snow-on-the-mountain.jpg
  • Evening sunset light bathes evening primrose and the rolling hills of the 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Evening primrose.jpg
  • A meadow of tall fireweed booms in Brotherhood Bridge Park in Juneau, Alaska. In the background is the Mendenhall Glacier, one of the most accessible glaciers in southeast Alaska. Each year, 465,000 curise ship passengers visit the Mendenhall Glacier.
    Tall fireweed and Mendenhall Glacier.jpg
  • Death Valley National Park Visitors come not only to experience the record heat but also the beauty. Despite the desert conditions, the park is known for its spring wildflowers. Under perfect conditions, the park experiences a rare event known as a wildflower "super bloom" which produces a sea wildflowers. Most of the desert wildflowers are annuals. This ensures their survival as this allows them to lie dormant as seeds during times of drought. Here, the golden light of sunset bathes Desert Gold, also known as Hairy Desert Sunflower, in Death Valley National Park.<br />
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Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California near the border with Nevada is one of the hottest spots on earth, holding the hottest recorded air temperature of 134 °F. The Park also is location of the lowest spot in North America, 282 feet below sea level at the vast salt flats at Badwater Basin. At 3.4 million acres, the park is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. Death Valley National Park sits between the Panamint Range on the west  and Amargosa Range on the east.
    Desert Gold in sunset light.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
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Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
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The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star-6.jpg
  • Ashy sunflower (Helianthus mollis) grows along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Ashy sunflower.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star-2.jpg
  • Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) also known as gayfeather is a common sight along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Prairie blazing star.jpg
  • Ashy sunflower (Helianthus mollis) grows along the 1.5-mile Gayfeather Trail in the Regal Prairie Natural Area located in Prairie State Park. The park, located near Liberal, Mo. is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie. The park’s nearly 4,000 acres is home to bison and elk. Panoramic hillsides of wildflowers such as prairie blazing star, sunflowers, and Indian paintbrush provide a canvas of color. In the fall, prairie grass such as big bluestem and Indian grass may tower as high as 8 feet tall. <br />
<br />
Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 13 million acres of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than one percent remains. The prairie at Prairie State Park remains because the rocky land was too difficult to plow, which protected it from being farmed. Hiking, animal viewing, camping, birdwatching, and photography are some of the activities that the park affords. <br />
<br />
The Regal Prairie Natural Area is a 240-acre state natural area within the park that is especially noted for its wildflower display. The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Prairie Foundation provided funding for the purchase of much of the park’s acreage. The area was dedicated as a state park in 1982.
    Ashy sunflower on tallgrass prairie.jpg
  • New Jersey Tea, Ceanothus americanus, blooms near the Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse located in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills. New Jersey Tea was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes, tea, and for tanning hides. The pictured tree is a cottonwood, the state tree of Kansas. The Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse, on the National Historic Register of Historic Places, was built on land donated by cattleman Stephen F. Jones. Built in 1882, the one-room school had its first classes in 1884. Typical enrollment was between one to 19 students of all grades. The school was closed in 1930 and restored in 1968 by the Garden Clubs in the Mid-East District of Kansas. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Lower Fox Creek School with New Jers...jpg
  • New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) blooms near the Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse located in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills. New Jersey Tea was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes, tea, and for tanning hides. The Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse, on the National Historic Register of Historic Places, was built on land donated by cattleman Stephen F. Jones. Built in 1882, the one-room school had its first classes in 1884. Typical enrollment was between one to 19 students of all grades. The school was closed in 1930 and restored in 1968 by the Garden Clubs in the Mid-East District of Kansas. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Lower Fox Creek School with New Jers...jpg
  • The urn shapped heads of the tall thistle attracts butterflies and songbirds. The plant can reach up to eight feet in height. This tall thistle was found at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the West Traps Pasture. The 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    Tall thistle.jpg
  • A meadow of tall fireweed booms in Brotherhood Bridge Park in Juneau, Alaska. In the background is the Mendenhall Glacier, one of the most accessible glaciers in southeast Alaska. Each year, 465,000 curise ship passengers visit the Mendenhall Glacier.
    Tall fireweed and Mendenhall Glacier.jpg
  • Evening sunset light bathes showy evening primrose in prairie grasses at the 10,894-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of Kansas in Chase County near the towns of Strong City and Cottonwood Falls. Less than four percent of the original 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie remains in North America. Most of the remaining tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills in Kansas. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is the only unit of the National Park Service dedicated to the preservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
    showy evening-primrose at sunset.jpg
  • Whitish gentian found along the Savage River Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Whitish gentian.jpg
  • A portion of the Haines State Forest pictured in this photo (hill area in the center) is under consideration for harvest. Known as the Baby Brown Timber Sale, the proposal by the Alaska Division of Forestry calls for 1,000 acres (20 million board feet) of Sitka spruce and  western hemlock to be harvested from state land. This photo shows the Baby Brown Timber Sale area near Haines Alaska between Porcupine Creek (left) and Glacier Creek (right). The Klehini River is in the foreground. The photo was taken from the Haines Highway (AK-7). The Baby Brown Timber Sale also includes forest land west of Glacier Creek to Jarvis Creek.<br />
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The area pictured also shows land that Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. has leased mineral rights. Constantine Metals is also currently exploring the area above Glacier Creek (right mountain slope). The minerals that Constantine’s drilling explorations have found are primarily copper and zinc, with significant amounts of gold and silver.<br />
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If approved the Baby Brown Timber Sale would be the largest sale in the Chilkat Valley since the 1990’s. The Division of Forestry estimates that the sale could generate 20 jobs directly associated with the harvest, $300,000 in royalties to the state. The economic impact of the sale to the statewide economy is estimated to $2,000,000.<br />
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Conservation groups are concerned by the size of the sale and the impact a sale of this size will have on the watershed, fish, and wildlife. There are also concerns about the impact the harvest will have on the viewshed visible from the Haines Highway (AK-7) which has been designated as a National Scenic Byway.<br />
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EDITORS NOTE: This panorama image was produced by electronically stitching together multiple single images.
    Baby Brown Timber Sale.jpg
  • Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis japonica) found along the Kilauea Iki trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii.
    Japanese anemone.jpg
  • A Fraser magnolia (Magnolia fraseri) flower blooms near the Grandview Overlook in the New River Gorge National River in West Virginia. Fraser magnolia is native to the southern Appalachians. Large creamy-white flowers appear from late April to early May, depending on elevation.
    Fraser magnolia-2.jpg
  • A Fraser magnolia (Magnolia fraseri) flower blooms near the Grandview Overlook in the New River Gorge National  Park and Reserve in West Virginia. Fraser magnolia is native to the southern Appalachians. Large creamy-white flowers appear from late April to early May, depending on elevation.
    Fraser magnolia.jpg
  • The state flag of Alaska aboard the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry, M/V Leconte, flutters in the wind.<br />
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The design of the flag was the result of a 1927 competition to design the flag. The winner, seventh-grader Benny Benson, described his entry, “The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear – symbolizing strength."
    Alaska state flag.jpg
  • Greer Mill, a roller mill built in 1899, was powered b cables running up from the Greer Spring branch. When cheaper sources of power, and flower became common, the mill was closed in 1920. The mill is located near the Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River in Missouri.<br />
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The 138-mile-long Eleven Point River flows from southern Missouri into northern Arkansas. Its flow more than doubles from Greer spring, adding over 200 million gallons of water per day. According to U.S. Geological Survey, the name comes from the French word pointe, a wooded point of land marking a river bend. French Voyageurs marked distance counting these points of river bends.<br />
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A 44 mile section of the river was established in 1968 as The Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River. The picturesque river is one of the eight initial units of the National Wild and Scenic River system. This designation created a shoreline that is mostly undeveloped.
    Greer Mill.jpg
  • Ohia-lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is one of the most common trees in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. It can reach heights of 60 to 80 feet in wet forests, but can be only a small shrub on dry lava fields. Hawaiian legend states that Ohia and Lehua were lovers. The volcano goddess Pele fell in love with Ohia and approached him, but he turned down Pele's advances. In a fit of jealousy, Pele transformed Ohia into a tree. Lehua was devastated and out of pity other gods turned her into a flower and placed her upon the ohia tree.
    Ohia-lehua.jpg
  • Dillard Mill, located along Huzzah Creek, is one of Missouri’s best-preserved water-powered gristmills. The mill, now part of the Dillard Mill State Historic Site, was built in 1908 and was in business until 1956 making it the longest-running mill of its kind in the state. Since 1977, the Dillard Mill State Historic Site has been leased by the L-A-D Foundation to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for management by Missouri State Parks.<br />
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Formerly known as the Mischke Mill before its restoration was completed in 1980, Dillard Mill uses an underwater turbine rather than a water wheel.<br />
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Pictured is a detail of the flour dresser, used to sift the flower through finer wire and silk reels.<br />
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When it was an operating mill, area farmers would bring their grain to the mill to be ground into flour and eventually livestock feed. Most of Dillard Mill's original machinery is still operational. Visitors can see and hear the sounds of the machinery and turbine just as millers did over a hundred years ago. <br />
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Dillard Mill State Historic Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
    Dillard Mill-2.jpg
  • Dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis) in fruit along the Chilkoot Indian Association (CIA) Trail in Haines, Alaska. Dwarf dogwood is also known as bunchberry. Its characteristics are similar to its relative, the flowering dogwood tree.
    Dwarf dogwood.jpg