2026 Friends of Blackwater NWR Photo Contest Winners Announced

The Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge recently announced the winners of the 2026 Refuge Photo Contest, which is a fundraiser for Blackwater NWR. This is the fourth year that photographers have entered their artwork in the contest to support the refuge. Winners receive cash prizes and the honor of displaying their winning prints in the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center gallery for the next year.

First-place winners included Julia Tanner (wildlife), Patrick Homer (landscape/waterscape), Candice Taylor (flora/macro), and Mikey Pullan (nightsky). All winning photos can be seen on the Friends of Blackwater website: https://www.friendsofblackwater.org/photo-contest-winners-2026.html. The judges for the 2026 contest were local wildlife photographers Josh Galicki, Scott Warner, and Lisa Mayo, all of whom are past contest winners.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, photography is a priority public use on national wildlife refuges, and photography is a popular activity at Blackwater NWR. Refuge photographers are attracted to the abundant winter waterfowl - including Canada and snow geese, tundra swans, and 20 species of ducks - as well as marsh birds, songbirds, and raptors throughout the year. They also enjoy photography in the pollinator meadow and pollinator garden behind the refuge Visitor Cener. The refuge is home to the largest natural population of formerly endangered Delmarva fox squirrels and is also home to the largest breeding population of bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida. Blackwater NWR includes forest, marsh, and shallow open water, and protects one-third of Maryland’s tidal wetlands, which makes it an ecologically important area within the state.

The Friends of Blackwater is a nonprofit citizens’ support group founded in 1987, assisting Blackwater NWR to carry out its educational, interpretive, and public use missions.

For more information about the photo contest, please contact Lisa Mayo at webmaster@friendsofblackwater.org