• Andrew Emlen
Skamokawa Paddle Center and Estuary Program

• Janet and Peter O'Mara
Skagit Audubon Society, Washington Native Plant Society (Skagit Valley)

• Joe LaTourrette, Principal Consultant, Conservation Strategies, Inc., a small consulting firm established in 1996 to provide wildlife and outdoor-related planning, lobbying assessment and management services to federal, state, local and tribal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and businesses.  

• Len Steiner
East Lake Washington Audubon Society

• Mike and MerryLynn Denny
Blue Mountain Audubon Society, Washington Ornithological Society

• Pat Ness
USGS Volunteer for Sea Otter Studies

Other environmentally-friendly people who helped me with the book include:

• Priscilla Dauble -- Blue Mountains wildflowers
• Darlene and Barry Bidwell, Nature Conservancy stewards at Glacial Creek and Rocky Prairie -- butterflies
• Denise Daily and Bobby Rose of the Makah Nation -- Neah Bay raptors
• Welden and Virginia Clark -- raptor report
• Terry Wahl -- pelagic birds

For many years, my volunteer photography was limited to providing images for use in brochures (The Nature Conservancy, etc.).  This effort expanded in 1990 when Joe LaTourette, director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, a lobbying organization, came to the Mountaineers Photography Group with a request.  He asked us for volunteers to photograph proposed WWRC sites and then to put together a show to lobby the Legislature and to promote this land preservation effort around the state.

A group of 12 to 15 of us had a great time traveling Washington State and photographing scenics, wildlife, and people enjoying recreation at WWRC sites.  I then produced a musical 2-projector fade-dissolve show for the Washington State Legislature to show them what a great job they had done with their first year appropriations - they were thrilled.  During the 10-year WWRC campaign, over $450 million was appropriated for habitat purchase and maintenance.

Another opportunity for expanded horizons came when Falcon Publishing selected Joe LaTourrette to write the Washington Wildlife Viewing Guide.  I traveled the state for him - researching potential wildlife sites for the book -  checking mileages, writing chapter material, and taking photographs.  I was excited to see explore new wildlife areas; Joe was concerned that he could only pay me mileage.

The real break came when Falcon Publishing selected Joe to write Washington Nature Weekends.  He had many other higher priority projects, so asked me to share the workload, then eventually take over authorship of the book.  The book was published in August, 2002.

I continue to provide Joe with slides to use in his various publications and slide shows.