Artist Statement    

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     The number .0053% represents the total square mileage of Colorado as a fraction of all square miles of earth. Within this respectively miniscule swath of land, an immense range of biodiversity exists that few other places on this earth can compete against. In any given place, each native entity that lives within the environment has some form of dependency on any other native entity in the same environment. These interconnected elements ultimately create an ecosystem.

     Over several months, I have traveled to a number of locations along the front range in Colorado, the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, to photograph one particular ecosystem. The dominant ecosystem of the foothills is called the montane shrubland, characterized by a transition between the prairie grasslands and mountainous forests. I have photographed a variety of landscapes within the montane shrubland and the wildlife that roams within. Some of these species include the western bluebird, the spotted towhee, deer, rabbits, and various others. Dispersed amongst the landscapes, these animals ultimately shape their ecosystem.

     Over time, I will expand my project to include all of the 8 major ecosystems within the state of Colorado in order to better represent the entirety of ‘.0053%.’ By representing the boundless biodiversity that characterizes such a small fraction of the earth, I hope to inspire the drive to conserve these profoundly intricate places in others.