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Krista Schlyer

@krista_schlyer

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Freelance photographer and writer. Photos of wildlife and land love in the Anacostia River watershed, US-Mexico borderlands, Chesapeake and beyond.

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Imagine if all these plastic bottles disappeared. A bill is currently under consideration in the DC City Council that would make plastic bottle pollution disappear virtually overnight, the same way plastic bags and styrofoam trash all-but disappeared from the Anacostia River when the city council took smart action a decade ago. BUT the bottling companies are spending millions of dollars to defeat the #dcbottlebill . If you live in DC you have a chance right now to make a real difference for the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. Get engaged, call your members of the city council and urge them to support the bottle bill. We need veto-proof passage of the bill. Your voice matters for the rivers of #WashingtonDC. And if you pass this bill—there is a great chance Maryland and Virginia will follow the lead. by @krista_schlyer

Beautiful day out on the Anacostia River with @anacostiaparks @anacostiariverkeeper @dcdpr @dcbirdalliance @anacostiaws and many more. Thank you Brenda❤️ for some much needed river time. by @krista_schlyer

The first Bioblitz at River Terrace Fringe Wetland thanks to @anacostiaws and volunteers. We plan to conduct one every year as our enhancement work continues. Amazing photodocumentation by @krista_schlyer and made possible by visionaries at @doee_dc.

#wetlands #bioblitz by @krista_schlyer

The San Rafael Valley of Arizona is a home and passageway for rare animals and plants, a watershed, a place of biological and cultural diversity. And it is being transformed with little thought, and for no rational reason. by @krista_schlyer

For the first time ever I’m participating in @gatewayost this coming Saturday 12-5. More than 200 artists will open their studios to the public—the largest open studio event in the Washington DC area. I’ll be showing some of my work from the US-Mexico borderlands, the Anacostia River and the @first_mates_log. Come on out—some incredible creative work is being in this community! Find a map and more info here: www.gatewaycdc.org/ost2026 by @krista_schlyer

This spot at the southern end of the Huachuca Mountains spans the border. The foreground is designated as a national park in the United States. The vast expanse beyond is Mexico. The blast zone is the border—where the mountain is being pulverized to make a concrete footer for wall. Most of this landscape has for centuries been uninhabited and untrammeled by humans. All of it is critical habitat for jaguars and ocelots, both of which are endangered in the United States. It is home to countless other species, from mountain lions, black bears and mule deer to jackrabbits, coatimundi, javelina, wildflowers and fragile cactus.
Some things we will endeavor to save or to make whole again when the chance arises. Some things will never be the same. by @krista_schlyer

The San Rafael Valley, Arizona. One of the most important regions for wildlife and biodiversity in the United States. by @krista_schlyer

Sometimes the future of a species depends on a single direction.

In Due North, Krista Schlyer photographs a kit fox living on open grasslands in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico — just miles from the U.S. border.

This region has become a refuge for many grassland species, but it is also increasingly shaped by drought, rising temperatures, and the accelerating effects of climate change.

For animals like the kit fox, survival may depend on the ability to move, especially northward in response to changing conditions.
Schlyer’s work asks us to consider not only habitat loss, but mobility: who can move, where they can go, and what happens when borders, human or environmental, stand in the way.

💬 What responsibilities do we have when nature’s boundaries begin to move?

You can experience Due North in person as part of Knowing Where to Stand: NANPA Environmental Impact Award Winners, now on view at RTPI.

🗓 On view through March 15, 2026
📍 Roger Tory Peterson Institute | Jamestown, NY

We would like to thank our sponsors for Knowing Where to Stand: Nature Photography Foundation, Shults Subaru, Wilson and Amy Mudge, and William Hackney. by @krista_schlyer

Leading up the the building of wall, the US military has been laying razor wire in passageways throughout the San Rafael Valley of Arizona. Wildlife advocates have been trying to find ways to get the American public to care, or even just notice the harm this poses to endangered species like jaguars, and all other wild creatures who travel these lands. Very few human travelers pass this way. Those who do can bring a pair of wire clippers. @de_cierto_sonora @peccary_not_pig by @krista_schlyer

The Santa Cruz River is a place of aged cottonwood trees and green undergrowth, Arizona milkweed, rare orchids, palo verde, mesquite and so much more. Last time I saw this cottonwood it was surrounded by its plant community. That life has been scraped away to make easy passage for machines, concrete, steel and razor wire. by @krista_schlyer

THIS out my front door last night. Dancing little men and jaguars with whips! A procession for the feast day of the Virgin de Guadelupe. I love my community. Mexico vive en Maryland. Viva la Mexico!🇲🇽 by @krista_schlyer

I taught a very fun conservation photography workshop with Coolidge, Ballou and Jackson Reed High Schools this past week with @dshowalter_photo and @dev_shoots with @ilcp_photographers . The students will be presenting today at our Wildspeak event. And I’ll be presenting my new work on the Anacostia River right before them at 1:45 at 945 G street NW DC—The First Congressional church auditorium. DM me for comp tickets. #Anacostia #washingtondc #conservationphotography by @krista_schlyer