April 19, 2012
National Natural Landmark Photo Contest for 2012 Opens
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 2 MIN.
WASHINGTON - Don't forget your camera as you head outdoors this spring: the National Natural Landmarks Program annual photo contest is now open and accepting entries.
"This is the 50th anniversary of the program and we hope people will join the celebration by photographing one of America's National Natural Landmarks," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "We're looking for images that capture the beauty and diversity of these natural areas."
Winning photographs will be featured in the 2013 National Natural Landmarks calendar.
Contest entries will be accepted through June 30. Winners will be announced in September.
Each photographer can submit up to three entries. There are no restrictions on the date of a photograph; however, please remember that "old" slides and prints often lose their quality over time.
Each photograph must be from a different national natural landmark. Images of the 13 sites featured in the 2012 calendar will not be accepted. Those winning photos can be viewed at: http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/currentwinners.cfm
For full contest information and submission requirements for the ninth annual contest, please visit: http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/photocontest.cfm
There are nearly 600 national natural landmarks nationwide representing an array of natural features-from dinosaur tracks and fossils at the Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas, Colorado to bioluminescent waters at Puerto Mosquito, Puerto Rico to the largest impact crater known in the United States at Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona.
National natural landmarks include features on private, state, municipal, and federal lands. Program participation is voluntary and not all landmark sites are open to the public.
National natural landmarks are designated by the Secretary of the Interior following rigorous scientific study. The National Natural Landmarks Program is managed by the National Park Service and recognizes significant examples of biological and geological features and supports the cooperative conservation of these important examples of America's natural heritage.
Further information about the National Natural Landmarks Program, including a complete list of designated sites and their accessibility is available at www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.
Learn more at www.nps.gov
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
