Visualizing the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Debate

Abstract

Environmental organizations often use visual material to inform society about environmental concerns and their associated policy issues. This case study examines the process by which the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) use a Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) to draw attention to the environmental issues surrounding the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In addition, the study analyzes the resulting photographs captured during the event. The CBF and the iLCP strategically use the RAVE to create scientific and local knowledge that they use to present their understanding of the Chesapeake Bay. An analysis of the slideshows generated from the RAVE shows how the strategies the photographers employ help to depict power relations among the stakeholders in the watershed area. The strategies may encourage audiences to develop a regional collective identity of concerned citizens who will work together to help to protect and clean the watershed.

Keywords:

• Environment
• Visual
• Photography
• Chesapeake Bay
• Policy
• Conservation

Acknowledgements

A previous version of this article was presented in the Collective Behavior and Social Movement Section Roundtable: Environmentalism and Environmental Justice at the ASA Conference in Denver, CO in August 2012. The author would like to thank the International League of Conservation Photographers for their cooperation. The author would also like to thank David Feldman, Scott Brooks, Katja Guenther, and Ellen Reese for helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this paper as well as the article referees for their comments.

Notes

1. The 17 articles do not represent an increase in media coverage about the Chesapeake Bay's environmental issues. A LexisNexis search reveals a negligible decrease in coverage during the time of the RAVE (1 July–31 October 2010) compared to four months prior to the RAVE (1 March–30 June 2010).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Anne Gervais Schwarz

Elizabeth Anne Gervais Schwarz is a Graduate Student at University of California Riverside