The Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District (UNWNRD) held the second annual amateur photo contest, in search of natural resources related photos from residents within the District encompassing Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan and Sioux counties. This year the NRD photo contest doubled the number of entries from the previous year, receiving nearly 100 beautiful photos of wildlife, nature, agriculture, recreation and much more.
“With so many beautiful photos submitted, choosing a winner was difficult,” noted Mike Strasburger, UNWNRD Director. The Board chose winners for first, second and third places with cash prizes awarded to the winners. The first-place photo will be made into a canvas print and displayed in the UNWNRD office for the next year, after that time the print will be returned to the winner when a new winner is selected.
The 2020 winner was Eric Arneson of Alliance with his winning photo of a storm cloud over a corn field titled “Panhandle Light Show” taken near Hemingford. This breathtaking photo is currently displayed in the UNWNRD Office until the new winning photo arrives, after that it will be Mr. Arneson’s print to keep.
The 2021 winners are Devin Codina of Chadron in third place with his photo of a windmill at dusk near King Canyon Road titled “Fly Me to the Moon”. In second place is Krista Moore of Whitney with her photo titled “The Barn” taken near Whitney. Finally in first place is Ruthe Meter of Alliance with her photo of a mother goose and her goslings titled “Peek-a-Boo” taken at Laing Lake Park in Alliance.
The intent behind the photo contest is to get the residents of the District outside to enjoy and capture the beauty in our natural resources close to home. “The residents of the District were able to display some of the most beautiful aspects of the natural resources in Northwest Nebraska,” commented Dave Kadlecek, UNWNRD Director.
The UNWNRD will continue to host the photo contest in years to come and will hope to receive even more unbelievable photos as this contest moves forward. Please look for more information on the NRD website www.unwnrd.org or stop by the office at 430 East 2nd Street to see the 2021 winning photo.