On Thursday, September 28, at 7:00 PM ET, photographer Ryan Hagerty will present "Diving Palmyra Atoll: A photographic journey to one of the most isolated islands in the world" atthe National Conservation Training Center, Byrd Auditorium, 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown, WV.
Halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa lies the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Palmyra consists of a circular string of about 26 islets nestled among several lagoons and encircled by 15,000 acres of shallow turquoise reefs and deep blue submerged reefs. It is the northernmost atoll in the Line Islands of the equatorial Pacific.
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2001, by the Secretary of the Interior. In 2009, the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument was established. Palmyra Atoll is one of seven National Wildlife Refuges within the Marine National Monument. Only Palmyra is open for public visitation.
The Monument represents one of the last frontiers of scientific discovery in the world and is a safe haven for Central Pacific biodiversity. The Monument and the national wildlife refuges within it protect entire ecosystems – from coral reefs to deep seamounts, abyssal plains, and volcanic features.
Ryan Hagerty is a West Virginia native and works as a photographer and videographer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ryan is a Senior Video Producer at the National Conservation Training Center and serves as the Regional Diving Safety Officer. He has been documenting fish and wildlife species around the country for the past 25 years. His specialty is underwater photography and videography in Appalachian rivers and streams.
In April of 2023, Ryan worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dive team on a pilot project to control the invasive "crown-of-thorns" starfish and prevent an outbreak on the remote Palmyra Atoll.
This program will be recorded and broadcast online using the NCTC's Livestream Studio on October 5, 2023, at 2:00 pm ET.
Within two weeks after the live event, the Broadcast Archived Programs are available for on-demand viewing.
