"Wild Things" 
Take Over the 
McAllen International Museum!

Do you wonder where the wild things are? This month they are at the 
McAllen International Museum. Working in partnership with the Valley Land Fund, the Museum is featuring a new show of award-winning nature photographs. These images reveal in breath-taking color and vivid detail the wild splendor that surrounds us in the Rio Grande Valley. These 250 photographs, all winners of the recent Valley Land Fund Wildlife Photo Contest, remind us why this area is so often called the "Magic Valley."

The McAllen International Museum exhibit runs through November 19th and is likely to be the only time all 250 winning images will be shown 
together. John Mueller, Executive Director of the Museum, says that "this 
is an annual event at the Museum, and this year's show is by far the most 
spectacular we have ever seen. Everyone who lives in this remarkable area or who visits the Valley should come to this show. It will open your eyes to a world that few of us will ever see in such lush detail."

"The exhibit is a testament to native wildlife and its natural habitat," 
says John Martin, founder and former president of the Valley Land 
Fund. "The biological and ecological significance of the South Texas 
wilderness cannot be overestimated. Our land is a bridge for thousands of migrating birds and home to several animals found nowhere else in this country. Yet our region has become a mere patchwork of isolated 
sanctuaries for its native species. The animals that you see in these 
photographs will not survive without habitat. Through this Museum exhibit 
and other activities, we hope to draw public attention to the beauty of 
wildlife and the need for habitat conservation. We want to get everyday 
people involved."

The 2000 Wildlife Photo Contest is the richest of its kind owing to its 
cash awards, and it is known among photographers as the "Iron Man Contest" due to the demands it places on photographers. In preparation for this year's contest, 150 photographers teamed up with 89 private landowners of the Rio Grande Valley. Photographers ranged from backyard amateurs to well-known and widely published professionals. For over six months, the photographers endured Texas heat and the rugged terrain to produce an estimated 75,000 photographs, from which they selected 7,500 for the judging process. Then began an intensive week of judging to select the 250 winning images.

The winners of the Wildlife Photo Contest were announced at the El Monte Awards on August 26th, 2000. The judges for this contest were recruited for their experience and respected standing in the field of wildlife photography. They included Darrell Gulin and Wyman Meinzer (renowned wildlife photographers) and Stephen Freligh (publisher and editor-in-chief of Nature's Best magazine).

The Valley Land Fund's Wildlife Photo Contest is the richest of its kind, 
with 130,000 dollars in prize money given away. The contest is a 
fundraising event run by the Valley Land Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit land trust dedicated to preserving the unique natural habitats of South Texas.

For more information about the Valley Land Fund Photo Exhibition at McAllen International Museum, call 682-1564, ext. 103 For a peak at of some of these brilliant photographs, you can visit the Valley Land Fund's website at http://www.Valleylandfund.com .

Come to the Museum now through November 19th and fall in love all over again with the "Wild Things" of the Rio Grande Valley!

______________

Photo samples:

First Place, Birds Division. Photographers: Sean Fitzgerald & Jeremy 
Woodhouse. Landowner: Roberto & Fran Yzaguirre.

First Place, Reptiles & Amphibians Division. Photographers: Derrick 
Hamrick & Roberta Summers. Landowners: Carolyn Cook Landrum, Jim & Kathy 
Collins Cook Ranc