Alexandra S. Garcia

Executive Director, International League of Conservation Photographers

From the Alaskan tundra to the Florida Everglades, from the Pacific waters off the coast of California to the chilly Atlantic along the shores of Maine, it is safe to say that the all who are Fellows of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) have documented, with incredible imagery, every state of our nation. It is also very likely that they have photographed every animal protected by the Endangered Species Act. As committed conservationists, our Fellows have used these images to further the preservation and protection of these landscapes and their wildlife.[pullquote]A breathtaking diversity of animals and landscapes forms the cornerstone of our national heritage.[/pullquote]

Our Fellows stand firmly, individually and collectively, behind the important goals and aims of the Endangered Species Act, and also behind the missions of each organization belonging to the Endangered Species Coalition. On behalf of all of us at ILCP, it is our sincere pleasure to support the 40th anniversary of the Act with a digital exhibit. We hope these images will remind everyone that, when we humans can devise ways to live respectfully and in harmony with wildlife, we are ensuring that future generations will have the chance to experience, firsthand, the environmental richness that is so profoundly engrained in our American consciousness, history, and culture.

A breathtaking diversity of animals and landscapes forms the cornerstone of our national heritage. We must do everything we can to protect and preserve it—for today’s Americans, and tomorrow’s, as well.