Art and Documentary Photography - Loading DShow_COr_Gila_MgllnCrk_aer_2.JPG
EVENT
Wild Gila
Dave Showalter

Five years deep into a Colorado River book project with Braided River, I've returned to fieldwork and look forward to an expedition to the Upper Gila River headwaters in southwest New Mexico. This will be my fourth trip to a largely unknown corner of the Colorado River watershed, collaborating with The Nature Conservancy New Mexico. I'll be teaming up with a local researcher to photograph two endangered birds - the yellow-billed Cuckoo and southwest willow flycatcher. 

The autumn image in this post shows golden cottonwood trees flowing with the river channel, a hallmark of a wild and healthy river. Rivers with no upstream dams can spill from their banks during flood events, the flood regime resulting in new cottonwood recruitment and healthy willow; woody vegetation, structure, and buffet for native species. The Upper Gila is incredibly biodiverse, and a rare stretch of wild river in the New Mexico desert. 

Dave Showalter
Jun 3, 2021

International League of Conservation Photographers

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