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Announcing the 2018 Habitat Month Photo Contest Winners!

July 31, 2018

The 2018 NOAA Habitat Month digital photo contest recognized photographers who have captured beautiful and captivating images of the habitats we and our partners are working to conserve, protect and restore.

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Four photos of habitats The 2018 Habitat Month Photo Contest public winners. Original photos are below.

NOAA and partners are conserving habitat to sustain fisheries, recover protected species, and maintain resilient coastal ecosystems and communities. To help celebrate our work, we asked the public and NOAA staff to submit their photos highlighting four categories of habitats, including coastal wetlands, estuaries and shallow coral reefs.

Thank you for submitting your wonderful photos! We received hundreds of compelling photographs to help celebrate NOAA Habitat Month. Here are the winners. We will be showcasing these as well as other entries throughout our website. 

Category 1: Coastal Wetlands, Marshes, and Mangroves

Public Entry Winner: Hank Carter

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Two people on stand up paddleboards in a wetland
Stand-up paddle boarders explore marsh around Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Credit: Hank Carter.

NOAA Entry Winner: Dana Bethea

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A small mangrove sprout with six leaves pushes up through the ground
A young mangrove sprouting through the sandy substrate near Port of the Islands, Florida. Credit: Dana Bethea.

Category 2: Estuaries and Rivers

Public Entry Winner: Douglas Croft

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A river meets the ocean on a rocky beach
The Little Sur River winds its way into the Pacific in Big Sur, California. Credit: Douglas Croft.

NOAA Entry Winner: Hansje Gold-Krueck

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Lush vegetation in a marsh
Morning mist in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Credit: Hansje Gold-Krueck.

Category 3: Underwater Habitats like Oyster Reefs, Coral Reefs, Deep Sea Coral, Grasses, and Kelp

Public Entry Winner: Laura Tesler

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A school of small colorful fish swims through a kelp forest
The kelp forest in California serves as a nursery for many species of fish, including these juvenile blacksmiths. Credit: Laura Tesler.

NOAA Entry Winner: Andrew Gray

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An orange fish with purple and blue spots peeks out between yellow branching corals
A six-blotch hind fish peers out from the safety of a small cave at Maug Island, Northern Mariana Islands. Credit: Andrew Gray.

Category 4: Other Habitats

Public Entry Winner: Joshua Lord

A lighthouse on top of a rocky shoreline at low tide
Low tide at Cape Arago Lighthouse in Charleston, Oregon. Credit: Joshua Lord.

NOAA Entry Winner: Jan Willem Staman

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A sea turtle resting on a sandy beach
A female green sea turtle, basking on Tern Island, Hawaii. She came back up later that night to lay her first nest of the 2018 season. Photos taken under NOAA and USFWS permits. Credit: Jan Willem Staman.

Thanks to everyone who participated this year!

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