National Estuarine Research Reserve System

National Estuaries Week – Photo Contest 2022

Congratulations to the 2022 National Estuaries Week photo contest winners. A panel of judges anonymously selected winning photos from more than 100 submissions. Thank you to all the photographers who participated.

Learn

Four kids wearing boots and chest waders look into a net over a bucket. Three stand in shallow water and one sits on a rock.

Chris Bowser, Hudson River Reserve, New York

Play

Kayaker points camera at a heard of feral horses on the bank.

Susan S. Smith, North Carolina Reserve

Smiles

Person smiling at the camera holding a small eel in the palms of their hands.

Chris Bowser, Hudson River Reserve, New York

Vista

Close up view of eel grass with shallow water around and evergreen trees in the distance.

Alicia Helms, South Slough Reserve, Oregon

A cluster of trees and a line of marsh grass reflect in glassy water at sunset.

Kyle Derby, Chesapeake Bay-Maryland Reserve

Two blue and white birds sit on a wooden structure. One faces the camera and one has it’s beak open looking at the other bird.

Rosemary Kovacs, Old Woman Creek Reserve, Ohio

Pale yellow flower with a yellow, flat center is floating in water.

Rosemary Kovacs, Old Woman Creek Reserve, Ohio

Work

Person standing in mud is in a dead forest with several devices on the ground at their feet.

Tim Thompson, photographer; submitted by Marissa Figueroa, Rookery Bay Reserve, Florida

Honorable Mentions

Person stands on a beach with buckets and grabbers between two flags that read Lives on the Line.

Morgan Zeleny, Rookery Bay Reserve, Florida

Person smiling while looking at a jar that contains a large seahorse. A body of water is in the background.

Morgan Zeleny, Rookery Bay Reserve, Florida

Person kayaking under a clear-blue sky with land in the distance.

Tricia Hooper, Chesapeake Bay-Maryland Reserve

Close-up view of a crawfish holding its front claws up while standing in grass.

Jennifer Plunket, Santee Coastal Reserve (near North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve), South Carolina

Person smiling while sitting on a rocky bank measuring a small crab.

Daisy Durant, photographer; submitted by Olivia Suarez, Narragansett Bay Reserve, Rhode Island

Five crabs in sandy water with a few blades of marsh grass around them.

Judy Cutchins, St. Marys, Georgia

A boat floats in the water under a cloudy sunset.

Marissa Figueroa, Rookery Bay Reserve, Florida

Greenish-blue water turns to small, foamy waves that crash against a white sand beach.

Morgan Zeleny, Rookery Bay Reserve, Florida

Fog rises from water meandering through marsh grass.

Jennifer Plunket, North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, South Carolina

A large gray, black, and white bird with long legs is standing on a log, leaning over with the tip of its beak in the water.

Rosemary Kovacs, Old Woman Creek Reserve, Ohio

A bee on a pink and orange cluster of flowers with green leaves in the background.

Candace Killian, Guana Tolomato Matanzas Reserve, Florida

A sea turtle hatchling on the sand crawls toward the ocean. A rainbow is in the clouds overhead.

Zachary Lepera, Guana Tolomato Matanzas, Florida

Two people in shoulder-deep water holding a clear container of water and submerged vegetation.

Chris Bowser, Hudson River Reserve, New York

Two people standing in shallow water, each holding a wooden stake they are using to pull a net draped in the water.

Chris Bowser, Hudson River Reserve, New York