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  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: Children attend a newly rebuilt school in the village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0021.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: Children attend a newly rebuilt school in the village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0014-2.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: Children attend a newly rebuilt school in the village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0012.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0094.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0090.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0051-2.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0044.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0036-2.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0033.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0016.jpg
  • The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan... More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0015.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0010.jpg
  • ANBAR SOMUCH, AFGHANISTAN,  JULY 31, 2002: The village of Anbar Somuch,  Afghanistan, July 31, 2002. More than 100 families have returned to their village after the fall of the Taliban and they are rushing to rebuild their homes before the brutal winter sets in. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    DSC_0005-2.jpg
  • KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, July 29, 2002: Life in Kabul. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, July 29, 2002: Life in Kabul. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, July 29, 2002: Life in Kabul. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, July 29, 2002: A wedding party leqaves a scenic point in  Kabul, Afghanistan July 29, 2002. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • The J Bar L ranch in the Centennial Valley of southern Montana experiences a cold November just before moving the cattle to Twin Bridges for the winter months. The J Bar L ranch finish their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_2202.jpg
  • Bryan Ulring, manager of the J Bar L ranch in the Centennial Valley of southern Montana, spends time with one of his horses after herding cattle on a chilly November day. The J Bar L ranch finish their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
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  • Bryan Ulring, manager at the J Bar L ranch in the Centennial Valley of southern Montana, goes for a sunset ride on a chilly November day. The J Bar L ranch finish their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," Ulring said. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
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  • Cowboys at the J Bar L ranch move cattle on a chilly November morning in the Centennial Valley of Montana. The J Bar L ranch finish their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_1800.jpg
  • The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    DSC_7451.jpg
  • The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    DSC_7287.jpg
  • The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    DSC_7250.jpg
  • The horses at the J Bar L ranch are treated with care and love by their trainer, Libby Ulring. Unlike many horse owners, Libby practices and teaches gentle, natural horsemanship. Riders are encouraged to get to know the horse and let it lead them, rather than kicking and provoking the horse. But horses aren't the only animals on the ranch. The J Bar L ranch finish their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_8674.jpg
  • The horses at the J Bar L ranch are treated with care and love by their trainer, Libby Ulring. Unlike many horse owners, Libby practices and teaches gentle, natural horsemanship. Riders are encouraged to get to know the horse and let it lead them, rather than kicking and provoking the horse. But horses aren't the only animals on the ranch. The J Bar L ranch finish their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    DSC_6681.jpg
  • Elle Anderson, 2,  plays with a calf outside her family's home on the J Bar L ranch. The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_5397.jpg
  • Ranchers from all across the Centennial Valley help J Bar L ranch brand young calves in August 2012. Branding is especially important in Western states, where grazing of public lands is vital to raising cattle. Cattle can easily wander or get mixed with other herds and being able to identify an animal's owner by a brand is critically important. 

Mark Boone, president of the Montana Cattlemen's Association, says the more environmentally focused philosophy used at J Bar L Ranch, first enshrined by Zimbabwean biologist Allan Savory, has seen a "steady increase" among Montana ranchers, especially with the newer generation, college-educated ones looking for ways to improve range productivity. 

Boone, who manages the VX Ranch, has read Savory's book himself, and his sense is that ranchers "use what fits" their operation. "I haven't heard, 'It didn't work out'," he adds, but ranchers do have to "tweak" things when Mother Nature "throws curve balls." This year, he notes, "drought has changed grazing plans entirely, with some shipping cattle to other states."
    DSC_6516.jpg
  • Ranchers from all across the Centennial Valley help J Bar L ranch brand young calves in August 2012. Branding is especially important in Western states, where grazing of public lands is vital to raising cattle. Cattle can easily wander or get mixed with other herds and being able to identify an animal's owner by a brand is critically important. 

Mark Boone, president of the Montana Cattlemen's Association, says the more environmentally focused philosophy used at J Bar L Ranch, first enshrined by Zimbabwean biologist Allan Savory, has seen a "steady increase" among Montana ranchers, especially with the newer generation, college-educated ones looking for ways to improve range productivity. 

Boone, who manages the VX Ranch, has read Savory's book himself, and his sense is that ranchers "use what fits" their operation. "I haven't heard, 'It didn't work out'," he adds, but ranchers do have to "tweak" things when Mother Nature "throws curve balls." This year, he notes, "drought has changed grazing plans entirely, with some shipping cattle to other states."
    DSC_6240.jpg
  • Kiley Martinell and her children help herd cattle at sunset on an August day at the J Bar L ranch, a unique conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_4707.jpg
  • Cowboys herd cattle at sunset on an August day at the J Bar L ranch, a unique conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_4666.jpg
  • Will Sparks helps herd cattle during sunset at the J Bar L Ranch, a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_4574.jpg
  • The J Bar L ranch is a unique conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_4367.jpg
  • Angolan women prepare huge vats of sorgum to feed the hundreds of internally displaced people of Angola, in March, 2000. Angola's brutal 26 year-civil war has displaced around two million people - about a sixth of the population - and 200 die each day according to United Nations estimates. .(Photo by Ami Vitale)
    Africa_Angola_010.tiff
  • A Senegalese army tank drives through the border of Guinea Bissau  and Senegal  in the Casamance region of West Africa. Rebels in Senegal's southern Casamance [Cassamance] province have been waging a bloody independence campaign against the central government in Dakar since 1982. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has long used Senegal's southern neighbor Guinea-Bissau as a launching pad for attacks inside Cassamance. Guinea-Bissau's former president, Joao Bernardo Viera, was accused of supplying the rebels with weapons until he was overthrown in a coup in May 1999.    (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    sn119.jpg
  • A Senegalese army tank drives through the border of Guinea Bissau  and Senegal  in the Casamance region of West Africa. Rebels in Senegal's southern Casamance [Cassamance] province have been waging a bloody independence campaign against the central government in Dakar since 1982. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has long used Senegal's southern neighbor Guinea-Bissau as a launching pad for attacks inside Cassamance. Guinea-Bissau's former president, Joao Bernardo Viera, was accused of supplying the rebels with weapons until he was overthrown in a coup in May 1999.    (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    sn118.jpg
  • Africans scramble to get on the few trucks that are allowed through the border of Guinea Bissau and Senegal. Rebels in Senegal's southern Casamance [Cassamance] province have been waging a bloody independence campaign against the central government in Dakar since 1982. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has long used Senegal's southern neighbor Guinea-Bissau as a launching pad for attacks inside Cassamance. Guinea-Bissau's former president, Joao Bernardo Viera, was accused of supplying the rebels with weapons until he was overthrown in a coup in May 1999.    (Photo by Ami Vitale)
    SN120.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 12: Nazir Mohammad stands inside the ruins of the former Presidential Palace  in Kabul, Afghanistan September 12,2002.   (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 12:  Two Afghan soldiers hold hands as the sun sets near the destroyed Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan September 12,2002. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 12:  An Afghan sits inside a music store next to posters of famous Indian Bollywood stars in Kabul, Afghanistan September 12,2002. Since the fall of the Taliban, Indian  movies and music have flooded the Afghan market and is hugely popular but the Ministry of Culture has recently banned showing Indian movies on television because it is considered too risque by some.   (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 12:  Zahara holds Nadia, both orphans living at the Shahad Nik Mohammed orphanage  in Kabul, Afghanistan September 12,2002. The children only had tea to drink this morning because there was not even money for bread which costs about five cents a loaf. They are living in desperate conditions as this country struggles to rebuild itself.   (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 11: An Afghan boy with polio is fitted for a leg brace that he will learn to walk with at an ICRC hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan September 11,2002. While Americans are remembering the attack on the World Trade Center  one year ago today, most Afghans are trying to forget the decades old war which killed more than a million people here in Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 11: An Afghan girl with polio and a man who lost his leg  learn to walk with at an ICRC hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan September 11,2002. While Americans are remembering the attack on the World Trade Center  one year ago today, most Afghans are trying to forget the decades old war which killed more than a million people here in Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab111C.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 11:  Mohammed Hazim who is crippled prepares to have braces made for him to enable him to walk at the ICRC hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan September 11,2002. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab108x.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 11: An Afghan girl learns to walk with an  artificial leg at an ICRC hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan September 11,2002. While Americans are remembering the attack on the World Trade Center  one year ago today, most Afghans are trying to forget the decades old war which killed more than a million people here in Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab107x.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 11: Afghan children who recently returned from Pakistan look for water and materials to rebuild their home inside a destroyed neighborhood of  Kabul, Afghanistan September 11,2002.  (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 11:  An American Marine salutes during the unveiling of a plaque where remains of the World Trade Center were laid as a symbolic gesture for those that died in the attack on the World Trade Center one year ago at the United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan September 11,2002 . (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 10:  Afghan girls learn too sew September 10, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 10:   Afghan  widowed women make dough inside a screened room at a bakery set up to help vulnerable families in Kabul, Afghanistan September 10,2002. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 9: An Afghan police officer watches a ceremony in Kabul Sports Stadium September 9, 2002  to comemerate the anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 9: An Afghan holds an umbrella over the head Ahmad Massoud, the son of the slain leader Ahmad Shah Massoud during a ceremony in Kabul Sports Stadium September 9, 2002  to commemorate  the one-year anniversary of the death of his father.   (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 9: An Afghan police officer chants "Allah Akbar" or "God is Great" during a ceremony in Kabul Sports Stadium September 9, 2002  to comemerate the anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 9: Afghan women hold portraits of Ahmad Shah Massoud during a ceremony in Kabul Sports Stadium, September 9, 2002  to comemerate the anniversary of his death. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab107B.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 9: An Afghan girl holds a portrait of Ahmad Shah Massoud during a ceremony in Kabul Sports Stadium, September 9, 2002  to comemerate the anniversary of his death. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab105B.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8:  An Afghan child stands inside police headquarters where a poster of Ahmad Shah Massoud hangs September 8, 2002, the day before the  anniversary of his death in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: Afghan police practice marching into Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab112.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: ISAF soldiers patrol the area surrounding Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab111.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: Afghan police practice marching into Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab110.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: German ISAF forces check Afghan workers before they are allowed to enter  Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab108.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: An Afghan policeman hangs up a poster of Ahmad Shah Massoud September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of his death in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab106C.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: Afghan police practice marching into Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab105A.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: Afghan police practice marching into Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab104A.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: Afghan police practice marching into Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab103B.jpg
  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 8: Afghan police practice marching into Kabul Sports Stadium September 8, 2002 in preparation for the events tied to tomorrow's  anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kab101B.jpg
  • ZHARE DASHT,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4: A Pashtun Afghan who was living in a camp for displaced people around Spin Boldak, near the border of Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, covers his face from dust in the new camp where he has been relocated called Zhare Dasht September 4, 2002.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in   camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  Pashtuns are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert surrounded by mines about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • GERESHK,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4: Children watch as a female Afghan inoculator administers the polio vaccination to the child of an Afghan woman  on the last day of a three-day nation wide immunisation campaign September 5, 2002 near Gereshk, Afghanistan.  The latest campaign targeted 5.9 million children under the age of five and teams of vaccinators went from village to village to ensure that all children in that age bracket were immunised. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • GERESHK,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4: An Afghan child suffering from malnutrition is shown to UNICEF health workers administering the polio vaccination on the last day of a three-day nation wide immunisation campaign September 5, 2002 near Gereshk, Afghanistan.  The latest campaign targeted 5.9 million children under the age of five and teams of vaccinators went from village to village to ensure that all children in that age bracket were immunised. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
    kan103B.jpg
  • GERESHK,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4: A female Afghan inoculator administers the polio vaccination to the child of an Afghan woman  on the last day of a three-day nation wide immunisation campaign September 5, 2002 near Gereshk, Afghanistan.  The latest campaign targeted 5.9 million children under the age of five and teams of vaccinators went from village to village to ensure that all children in that age bracket were immunised. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • ZHARE DASHT,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4: A Pashtun Afghan who was living in a camp for displaced people around Spin Boldak, near the border of Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, is relocated to the encamptment of Zhare Dasht by the UNHCR September 4, 2002.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in   camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  Pashtuns are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert surrounded by mines about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • SPIN BOLDAK,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4: An Afghan child from the Kuchi nomadic tribe laughs despite the horrible living conditions in an encamptment near Spin Boldak, the border town between Pakistan and southern Afghanistan September 4, 2002.  The UNHCR is trying to relocate tens of thousands of internally displaced people at the same time as an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan. Ethnic Pashtuns and Kuchi nomads from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  theys are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert surrounded by mines about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • ZHARE DASHT,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 4:  Afghan Kuchi nomad children that were living in a camp for displaced people around Spin Boldak, near the border of Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, are relocated to the encamptment of Zhare Dasht by the UNHCR September 4, 2002.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in   camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  Pashtuns and Kuchis are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert surrounded by mines about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • ZHARE DASHT,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 3: An Afghan child who was living in a camp around Spin Boldak, near the border of Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, looks out of her new home after she was relocated to the desolate, dusty encamptment of Zhare Dasht by the UNHCR September 3, 2002.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in refugee camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  Pashtuns are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • ZHARE DASHT,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 3: An Afghan Kuchi nomad girl who was living in camps around Spin Boldak, near the border of Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, relaxes after a grueling day of being relocated to the desolate, dusty encamptment of Zhare Dasht by the UNHCR September 3, 2002.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns and Kuchi Nomads from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in refugee camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  they are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in a dismal camp  like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • ZHARE DASHT,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 3: Afghans, mainly Pashtuns and Kuchi nomads who were living in camps around Spin Boldak, near the border of Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, are relocated to the desolate, dusty encamptment of Zhare Dasht by the UNHCR September 3, 2002.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in refugee camps in the south. Numbering up to 120,000,  Pashtuns are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KANDAHAR,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 3: The stunning but desolate and dusty province of Kandahar is shown from an aerial photograph September 3, 2002 in Afghanistan.  As an estimated 1.6 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan,  ethnic Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan are seeking safety in refugee camps in this region. Numbering up to 120,000,  Pashtuns are fleeing the Tajik- and Uzbek-dominated cities of the north out of fear and prefer to live in the dismal camps like Zhare Dasht which is set in the middle of a desert about 30 kilometers west of Kandahar. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 2: An Afghan police officer gurads the stadium where President Hamid Karzai, together with representatives of the Ministry of Public Health, WHO and UNICEF kicked off a three-day nation wide immunisation campaign against polio September 2, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan.  The latest campaign will target 5.9 million children under the age of five and teams of vaccinators will go from village to village to ensure that all children in that age bracket are immunised. President Karzai adminstered the first drops of the Oral Polio Vaccine to an unidentifies Afghan child. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 2: An Afghan security guard and child watch the crowd as their President Hamid Karzai, together with representatives of the Ministry of Public Health, WHO and UNICEF kicked off a three-day nation wide immunisation campaign against polio September 2, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan.  The latest campaign will target 5.9 million children under the age of five and teams of vaccinators will go from village to village to ensure that all children in that age bracket are immunised. President Karzai adminstered the first drops of the Oral Polio Vaccine to an unidentified Afghan child. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • KABUL,AFGHANISTAN - SEPT. 2: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, together with representatives of the Ministry of Public Health, WHO and UNICEF kicked off a three-day nation wide immunisation campaign against polio September 2, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan.  The latest campaign will target 5.9 million children under the age of five and teams of vaccinators will go from village to village to ensure that all children in that age bracket are immunised. President Karzai adminstered the first drops of the Oral Polio Vaccine to an  Afghan child. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images)
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  • A Mauritanian makes his way on one of the few isolated roads in a country primarily made up of low-lying desert. During the recurrent droughts of the 1970s and 80s, many nomads were forced into the urban capital of Nouakchott. Now nearly half the population resides there. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • Afghan orphans wait in line to eat lunch at an overcrowded orphanage in Kabul, Afghanistan September 1, 2002. There are not enough bowls or tables so the 1800 children must wait in line for the next child to finish before they can eat. Despite the huge amounts of foreign aid being brought into the country, many schools and orphanges have seen none of it yet and the alarming rates of child mortality continue to remain among the worst in the world. One in four children die before the age of 5 here.
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  • Ali Ipak's daughter Emel, 17, (in blue) offers tea to her father (far left), a neighbor Kazim Kardes, and the mayor of Kutoren Mr Ugur Akdogan  (in suit)   December 13, 2005 in central Turkey, Konya in Kutoren district, about 400 kilometers from Ankara. (Ami Vitale)
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  • Monks eat breakfast and perform morning chores in a monastery near Trashi Yengtse October 14, 2005. (Ami Vitale)
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  • A Monk tries to get the last pears out of a tree in Bhumthang, Bhutan October 18, 2005. (Ami Vitale)
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  • Monks eat breakfast and perform morning chores in a monastery near Trashi Yengtse October 14, 2005. (Ami Vitale)
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  • Monks eat breakfast and perform morning chores in a monastery near Trashi Yengtse October 14, 2005. (Ami Vitale)
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  • First year monks learn to play religious music on flutes and drums before they have to give musical exams to the Lama of Punakh Dzong October 11, 2005 in Punakha, central Bhutan. Before 1995, Punakha was the capital of Bhutan. Bhutan is a Kingdom of 753,000 people and is about 80 percent Buddhist, 15 percent Hindu.
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  • A remote area inside an Assamese national park and reserved land that has been encroached on is shown December 28, 2003 The encroachers are causing tremendous deforestation as they sell the wood and clear the land for agriculture. Forsetry officials chase them off the land but they come back almost immediately after the clearing operation and continue to live in this protected area. (Ami Vitale)
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  • Hundreds, perhaps thousands of villagers, forest rangers, police and wildlife experts attempt to drive a herd of elephants from a village on the outskirts of Tezpur, Assam in Eastern India December 22, 2003.  India and its sacred elephants are threatened by poaching, deforestation and encroachment of the reserved land and natural forests.  As a result of the loss of land, wild elephants are rampaging through villages, killing people and destroying their homes and crops. During this drive, a baby elephant, only days old was seperating from his mother and faces probable death without her. He is now at a rescue center in Kaziranga. (Ami Vitale)
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  • Indian Forest rangers take a man accused of murder and illegal logging back to the murder scene in Sonitpur district in Assam, eastern India  December 29,2003.   India and its elephants are threatened by deforestation because of encroachment of the reserved land and natural forests.  As a result, wild elephants are rampaging through villages, killing people and destroying their homes and crops. (Ami Vitale)
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  • Local Mauritanian and Senegalese fishermen haul in a pirogue after they returned from a full night of fishing in the Atlantic  near the capital of Nouakchott in Mauritania.  West Africa has suffered massive overfishing by foreign fishing fleets, with local small fishing boats forced to fish further and further out to sea or to concentrate their activities in sensitive coastal areas.  In the last 45 years, foreign vessels,   caught an estimated 80 percent of the fish taken from West African waters. The coastal nations took home the remaining 20 percent. And their share may get smaller..(Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • Senegalese traders wait for the local fishermen to bring in the days harvest from their small pirogues in the West Arican city of  Ziguinchor, Senegal located in the troubled Casamance region.  West Africa has suffered massive overfishing by foreign fishing fleets, with local small fishing boats forced to fish further and further out to sea or to concentrate their activities in sensitive coastal areas.  In the last 45 years, foreign vessels,   caught an estimated 80 percent of the fish taken from West African waters. The coastal nations took home the remaining 20 percent. And their share may get smaller.  (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • Local Senegalesetraders prepare for the days harvest of fish to be brought  by local fishermen in the town of St. Louis in Senegal.  West Africa has suffered massive overfishing by foreign fishing fleets, with local small fishing boats forced to fish further and further out to sea or to concentrate their activities in sensitive coastal areas.  In the last 45 years, foreign vessels,   caught an estimated 80 percent of the fish taken from West African waters. The coastal nations took home the remaining 20 percent. And their share may get smaller..(Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • A young sorghum seed struggles to grow in the region of Affole in Mauritania where farmers who were once nomads built a dam.  Successive droughts and the attractions of settled life have reduced that figure of nomadic herders to about 10%. Almost half of Mauritanians live in the capital, Nouakchott, which was no more than a coastal village fifty years ago. (Photo by Ami Vitale)
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  • Elle Anderson, 2,  plays with a calf outside her family's home on the J Bar L ranch. The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
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  • Elle Anderson, 2,  plays with a calf outside her family's home on the J Bar L ranch. The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
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  • Ranchers from all across the Centennial Valley help J Bar L ranch brand young calves in August 2012. Branding is especially important in Western states, where grazing of public lands is vital to raising cattle. Cattle can easily wander or get mixed with other herds and being able to identify an animal's owner by a brand is critically important. 

Mark Boone, president of the Montana Cattlemen's Association, says the more environmentally focused philosophy used at J Bar L Ranch, first enshrined by Zimbabwean biologist Allan Savory, has seen a "steady increase" among Montana ranchers, especially with the newer generation, college-educated ones looking for ways to improve range productivity. 

Boone, who manages the VX Ranch, has read Savory's book himself, and his sense is that ranchers "use what fits" their operation. "I haven't heard, 'It didn't work out'," he adds, but ranchers do have to "tweak" things when Mother Nature "throws curve balls." This year, he notes, "drought has changed grazing plans entirely, with some shipping cattle to other states."
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  • The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
    TAN_9827.tif
  • The J Bar L ranch is a unique, conservation-friendly ranch nestled into the wide open land of the Centennial Valley in southern Montana. The ranch finishes their cattle on grass, in contrast to the vast majority of ranches in the U.S. that send cattle to feedlots. The 2,000 head at J Bar L "never go into a feedlot," said Bryan Ulring, manager of the ranch. He added that the J Bar L is one of the biggest grass finishers in the state. The Centennial Valley is an important wildlife corridor for elk, moose, antelope, deer, wolverines, grizzly bears, wolves and hundreds of bird species. The valley is largely owned by a handful of large ranches, which means their use of the land impacts the local environment. © Ami Vitale
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