Arapaho National Forest, Colorado

Daybreak catches Colorado’s Gore Range rising above the sagebrush of the proposed Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area. The area is home to the Middle Park population of greater sage-grouse, as well as to elk, mule deer and other wildlife.

Like the greater sage grouse, many species inhabiting the imperiled sagebrush-steppe ecosystem can survive nowhere else on earth. Unique to the western US, 44% of this ecosystem has already been destroyed through human activity. The Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act would provide permanent protection for this critical habitat.

This image was photographed in support of the CORE Act, legislation to protect 400,000 acres of public lands in Colorado.