Announcing the 2019 Habitat Month Photo Contest Winners!

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

Canoeing in the swamps of Louisiana.

NOAA Entry Winner: Stephen Heverly

The sun setting over marsh habitat on Chincoteague Bay in Maryland.

Youth Entry Winner: Sofia West

A marshy area in Delaware.

Category 2: Estuaries

Public Entry Winner: Brett Holycross

Starfish and mussels at low tide in Yachats, Oregon.

NOAA Entry Winner: Dale Youngkin

Salt marsh at sunset on Sapelo Island, Georgia.

Youth Entry Winner: Claire Nakamura

View of marshlands from a dock in Morehead City, North Carolina.

Category 3: Rivers

Public Entry Winner: Tracy Szela

The sun sparkles on the Savage River leading from the Alaska Range mountains in Denali National Park.

NOAA Entry Winner: Jessica Voveris

Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska. The Mendenhall is fed by meltwater from the local Mendenhall Glacier, which is part of the Juneau Icefield.

Youth Entry Winner: Sabrina Weingast

Rock creek, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland, after a rainstorm.

Category 4: Underwater Habitats

Public Entry Winner: Laura Tesler

Thousands of salmon smolt start their journey to the sea in the Willamette River in Oregon.

NOAA Entry Winner: Amy Webb

A green surf anemone attached to a rocky surface in a tide pool in Ruby Beach, Washington.

Youth Entry Winner: No entries received

Thanks to everyone who participated this year!