Billfish Conservation Act of 2010
There is a new piece of billfish conservation legislation that has been introduced into the US Congress that if passed, will prohibit the commercial harvest, sale and inportation of billfish throughout the US. Currently you can catch and sell marlin, sailfish and spearfish caught in the Pacific. The picture above was taken in January 2010 [...]
Cuba 2009
Cuba 2009 – Images by Tom McMurray Cuba is a remarkable place in so many different ways. It is a Caribbean paradise with some of the most pristine reefs in the sea, it’s history is rich with culture, food and music, it’s sophisticated people and it still lives under the vestiges of the Soviet style [...]
The Last Great Billfish Tournament
Fishing for big game fish like blue marlin is a sport made famous by Ernest Hemmingway and Zane Grey in exotic places like Cuba, Cabo Blanco and Tahati. Their stories like The Old Man and the Sea are classic man versus sea creature sagas that have captivated fishermen with tales of great physical pain, danger [...]
BP Oil Spill Damage Assessment
On July 27, 2010, I accompanied wetlands restoration ecologist Professor Curt Richardson from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment to New Orleans to assess the oil spill damage to the Delta wetlands. Via tow helicopter flights and two boat trips, we covered most the Mississippi delta wetlands in Plaquemines and Jefferson Parrishes down to the [...]
Colorado River Delta
Here are some aerial photos taken with our two partners, The Lighthawk Foundation and the Sonoran Institute, in May 2010. Colorado River Delta – Images by tom mcmurray
Marine Ventures Mission
Mission and Strategy Marine Ventures Foundation seeks to improve and protect critical marine, coastal and river habitats in North America, South America and the Caribbean. Founded in 2000, MVF uses ecosystem-based approaches to ensure habitat biodiversity and long-standing cultural heritage through cutting edge conservation science, strong partnerships and market incentives. The Foundation funds projects where [...]
The Gulf Oil spill is the second worst environmental disaster…
Colorado River Delta below Mexacali, Mexico May 2010 The Gulf Oil spill shows the destructive power that comes with pure wealth extraction from the planet. Yea we need the oil badly. Yea we are gonna keep drilling for the foreseeable future. The oil spill is a real time event – we can see the [...]
Colorado River Delta
We were invited to do an aerial survey of the Colorado River Delta from Yuma south to the Gulf of California. While it was a majestic 2 million acre wetland back in the 1920s, the people of the West have drained the water from the Colorado River so that the delta has dried up. Once [...]
54 South, 70 West…
54 degrees South is pretty far South. Santiago, Chile is 33 degrees South. Hobart, Tasmania is 43 degrees South and Capetown, SA is a mere 34 degrees South. We are in the land of fire as it was called by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520: Tierra Del Fuego. And our exact location is on the [...]
Rio Parana, Argentina Update
We just returned from 6 days on the Rio Parana in northern Argentina where we stayed at the home of Peto Nogare in Itati (see green placemark on map below). The river is the border between Paraguay and Argentina, home to dense jungles along the banks, massive estancia rice plantations further inland and a drug [...]
Looking back at Midway
Back from Midway Atoll now. These immersive experiences are always intense but wonderful. Since it was my second trip to Midway, I was prepared for most of what we saw – 500,000 albatross, 25 endangered monk seals, endangered Laysan ducks and slowing crumbling infrastructure from 40 years of Navy presence on the Atoll. But [...]
Midway Atoll Photos
I am posting some of the many photos taken on Midway in the past 4 days. We have been engaged in three areas: albatross conservation, Hawaiian monk seal counts and marine debris cleanup. See what you think. Tracy getting up close to ID a monk seal on West Beach. Most monk seals are tagged but [...]
Midway Atoll, 177.4 West, 28.5 North
MIdway Atoll is 1200 miles NW of Honolulu, HI. Part of the new Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Midway atoll is composed of three islands, the largest being 1100 acre in size, famous for the critical battle in WWI, home to over 1,000,000 albatross and my home for 10 days this month. I am here with a [...]
Blog repaired and back online…
We had our blog hacked by someone with a web address in Russia a couple weeks ago. We had to rebuild it and are still working to get the photos and video links reestablished. Hopefully we will get everything back to the way it was. In the meantime 2009 has gone and 2010 arrived. And [...]
Fall Fires
It has been a while since we last posted. We have been focused on analyzing our aerial photos from this summer and preparing for the last shoot on the Henrys Fork before the snows come. We should have around 6,000 aerial photos hosted on the web and available to the community in the next [...]
Fall is coming to Jackson
Fall is coming to Jackson, Wyoming these days. The temperature drops down below freezing each night, bull elk can be spotted in groups roving around and the bison are on the move. We are still working on the Henrys Fork. Our last aerial flight was a BAP low altitude photo recon of the Henrys [...]
Yellowstone wolf: native species or invasive species?
Living in Jackson Hole has its pluses and minuses. And like anywhere in America, once you head out of town and talk to people you find different opinions about important matters. Ranchers in the West are the old breed, the people who tamed the West, the people who work through the long hard winters [...]
The Cove…
I would recommend you watch this trailer from the movie The Cove… While there are always cultural issues between countries, some things are considered sacred regardless. And we each have the right to speak out for what we believe is right and just. These people did that and more. Decide for yourself.
A little perspective
Research vessel LM Gould and Antarctica iceberg – photo courtesy of Lindsey Peavey, Duke University Nicholas School A little perspective is a good thing always. Once immersed we can lose sight of the big picture, the end goal and reason for all the work and struggle and excitement about the environment. Perspective can bring it [...]