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Announcing the 2019 Habitat Month Photo Contest Winners!

July 31, 2019

The 2019 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 coastal habitats and species The 2019 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 Habitat Month and our 2019 theme, “Habitat Working for You,” we asked the public, NOAA staff, and youth to submit their photos highlighting four categories of habitats, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, rivers, and underwater habitat.

Thank you for submitting your wonderful photos! We received more than one hundred 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

Public Entry Winner: Alyssa Bialek

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The edge of a canoe parts a dense mat of wetland vegetation
Canoeing in the swamps of Louisiana. Credit: Alyssa Bialek.

NOAA Entry Winner: Stephen Heverly

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Golden light over a wetland landscape
The sun setting over marsh habitat on Chincoteague Bay in Maryland. Credit: Stephen Heverly.

Youth Entry Winner: Sofia West

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Green vegetation borders the water in a wetland
A marshy area in Delaware. Credit: Sofia West.

Category 2: Estuaries

Public Entry Winner: Brett Holycross

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Sea stars and bivalves cling to a rock at low tide
Starfish and mussels at low tide in Yachats, Oregon. Credit: Brett Holycross.

NOAA Entry Winner: Dale Youngkin

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An orange glow radiates in a wetland
Salt marsh at sunset on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Credit: Dale Youngkin.

Youth Entry Winner: Claire Nakamura

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Slats of a dock look out onto a wetland
View of marshlands from a dock in Morehead City, North Carolina. Credit: Claire Nakamura.

Category 3: Rivers

Public Entry Winner: Tracy Szela

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A shallow river flows through forested wetlands
The sun sparkles on the Savage River leading from the Alaska Range mountains in Denali National Park. Credit: Tracy Szela.

NOAA Entry Winner: Jessica Voveris

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A forest-lined river flows near a mountain range
Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska. The Mendenhall is fed by meltwater from the local Mendenhall Glacier, which is part of the Juneau Icefield. Credit: Jessica Voveris.

Youth Entry Winner: Sabrina Weingast

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A muddy creek flows under tree canopies
Rock Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland, after a rainstorm. Credit: Sabrina Weingast.

Category 4: Underwater Habitats

Public Entry Winner: Laura Tesler

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Thousands of schooling young salmon, seen from below
Thousands of salmon smolt start their journey to the sea in the Willamette River in Oregon. Credit: Laura Tesler.

NOAA Entry Winner: Amy Webb

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A light green, many-tentacled sea anemone
A green surf anemone attached to a rocky surface in a tide pool in Ruby Beach, Washington. Credit: Amy Webb.

Youth Entry Winner: No entries received

 

Thanks to everyone who participated!

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