Slide 1 of 6.
A cowboy waits for the morning work to begin. Horses remain an essential tool of ranching in the rugged terrain of southern Arizona.
Source: Brian PowellSlide 2 of 6.
The bottom of the Altar Wash now sits 15 feet below the edge of its former terrace. The wash is a legacy of poor grazing practices, but efforts are now underway to restore the wash and its tributaries.
Source: Brian PowellSlide 3 of 6.
Ernesto "Chapo" Valenzuela, now 97, holds the rope he used for the last 20 years of his career. A rancher and cowboy for over 60 years, his knowledge of grazing made him a mentor to many in the valley.
Source: Brian PowellSlide 4 of 6.
Rancher Tom Kay has spent considerable labor and resources in the last 12 years to increase grass productivity on his ranch. Success has been slow but steady.
Source: Brian PowellSlide 5 of 6.
A shrine in honor of Saint Jude, the Patron Saint of Lost Causes. Built in the 1950s in the hopes of alleviating a severe drought, the shrine's symbolism is relevant today; the current drought is one of the worst in recorded history.
Source: Brian PowellSlide 6 of 6.
Joe (left) and John (right) King's ancestor began ranching in the Altar Valley in the 1890's. Joe carries on the family tradition, but many ranching families lack heirs interested in ranching.
Source: Brian Powell

Brian Powell, an amateur photographer and program coordinator in the Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation, is the grand prize winner of the National Geographic/Nikon Full Story Contest.

Brian Powell

Powell won with his entry, “A Test of Resiliency: Land and Ranchers in Arizona’s Borderlands,” a package of photographs, an essay and a video about the challenges ranchers in Pima County’s Altar Valley face as a result of historic overgrazing, the current severe drought, drug and human smuggling, and development. His entry can be viewed at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/nikon/fullstory.html.

Powell will accompany Andrew Evans, National Geographic’s Digital Nomad, on a National Geographic Expedition to the Galápagos Islands Feb. 8-17 to photograph the islands’ rich ecosystem. His photographs from the expedition will be available for viewing on the National Geographic website beginning Feb. 27.

Last fall, Powell was one of five first prize winners who were sent a Nikon D600 to shoot their full story between Dec. 17, 2012, and Jan. 7, 2013. He also won first place in the Travel Photographer of the Year competition in 2010.

Powell, who has worked for Pima County since 1997, has been an avid photographer since he was 13 years old.

The project in the Altar Valley, though pursued in his personal time, is related to his work at the County. He assists in the management and monitoring of the County’s extensive ranchlands. Through his work he has gained an appreciation for and interest in the ranching community and their role in land conservation.

“The competition motivated me to take on a project that would push the limits of my photographic ‘comfort zone,’” Powell said. “Most of my images are of nature, but this project challenged me to take a broader view of humans within the natural environment. It was a fantastic experience.”