Thursday, November 21st at 6:30pm
Join us at 6:30pm for the November meeting of the Horicon Marsh Bird Club. Blake Richard of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will be speaking on Clicking for Conservation: Why Cameras are the Most Important Tool in Modern Conservation. The meeting is open to the public and is held at the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center located at N7725 Highway 28, Horicon, WI.
This presentation will cover how Blake, and others, use and have used, photographs in each of their unique and diverse experiences. From DSLR and mirrorless cameras to trail cameras and drones, each camera serves a purpose in managing wildlife and conserving them for stakeholders—present and future. From grizzly bears caught eating goose eggs and bird migrations tracked unimaginable distances, to educational blogs, social media outreach, and invasive species, cameras caught it all.
Blake grew up in Park Falls, Wisconsin, and, not far from home, got a degree in Natural Resources from Northland College in 2024. His first professional experience in wildlife management was with the Wisconsin DNR in 2021, which eventually blossomed into a new experience in Alaska with Ducks Unlimited in 2022. As a Ducks Unlimited Intern, Blake helped monitor dusky Canada geese as part of the Dusky Canada Goose Artificial Nest Island Program. The following summer he helped with a red knot survey in Controller Bay, Alaska, before coming home and finishing the summer with the Iron County Land & Water Conservation Department. After graduating from Northland College, Blake went back to Alaska for another season of red knot field work before going even further north to Utqiagvik, Alaska to work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on an eider project. Currently he is in Moses Lake, Washington working as a Natural Resources Specialist with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.
Throughout it all, Blake has become accustomed to taking his camera with him and sharing wildlife work through his perspective. Blake has written blogs for an educational following, contributed photos to annual reports and, and helped manage social media accounts to increase recruitments for a generation that may be less likely to be outside. He’s learned a lot, but the most important thing all his experiences has helped him realize is that the world changes according to the way people see it.
