We first met Joel Caldwell (@joelwcaldwell) after his bikepacking trip through Krygyzstan and have been smitten ever since. Passionate about the environment, Joel often uses his talent to shine light on important conservation issues (check out his post in The Cleanest Line about snow leopard conservation in Tajikistan). He's shot multiple Give a Shot projects and recently embarked on a multi-week road trip to shoot for several Conservation Alliance grantees across the Pacific Northwest. In addition to some images from the trip, below also selected excerpts from conversations he had with the people he met along the way.

First up are shots from the Ochoco National Forest for Oregon Wild. Amy and Mike are both retired field biologists, conservationists, and hunters. Amy shared some thoughts on the importance of public lands and her love of hunting.

"Public lands allow people to explore the landscape we call home. They allow us to recreate. Many of our ancestors came from Europe where hunting was basically a rich man’s sport, a lord’s sport, not for the common man. That’s one of the neat things about our country, that these public lands were set aside, making it possible for all to enjoy."

"[Hunting] is the sunrise, the sunset, the beauty of the landscape, spending time in nature...Sitting, looking, listening. It’s amazing what comes over you, what you see and hear. I think people in cities have lost touch with being part of the environment. Meat and veggies don’t come wrapped in plastic, they’re harvested. Without access to these lands, the physical and spiritual aspects of our lives would be severely diminished. I want to make the point that harvest is very highly regulated and science based. It’s not a harvest problem that is threatening wildlife, it’s a habitat problem."

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