Image by Mariah Lundgren
"When I began as a photographer, I was taking pictures mostly for myself. When we had children, my mindset changed, and now I do the work mostly for them because I don't want my kids or anyone else's to grow up one day and only be able to appreciate the wonders of nature in a museum or read about it in a book or see it in a zoo.
I feel we are blessed to be stewards of this planet, but in many cases, we have forgotten that with this privilege comes responsibility. Photography can be a powerful witness to our shortcomings, but also to show that beauty and hope still exist in the natural world. It can help communicate to people why something matters. Conservation photography is an active and powerful tool to begin this process, to start the conversation, to call for action. Time is short.”
– Michael Forsberg
Michael Forsberg is a Nebraskan whose 30-year career as a photographer and conservationist has been dedicated to wildlife and conservation stories in North America's Great Plains, once one of the greatest grassland ecosystems on Earth. His images have been featured in publications including Audubon, National Geographic, Nature Conservancy, and Sierra magazines. His fine art prints are in public and private collections, and his solo exhibitions have traveled nationwide.
In 2017, Mike received the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography from the Sierra Club in Washington, DC, and the Environmental Impact Award from the North American Nature Photography Association. Also, in 2017, his image of sandhill cranes on the Platte River was selected to illustrate USPS's Forever stamp celebrating Nebraska's 150 years of Statehood. In 2000, his photograph of a Nebraska tallgrass prairie was issued as an international airmail stamp in the United States Postal Service's American Scenes Series. In 2020, Mike received the J. Sherwood Chalmers Medal from The Garden Club of America.
Mike is the author and photographer of On Ancient Wings – The Sandhill Cranes of North America, self-published in 2005, Great Plains – America's Lingering Wild, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2009 and Into Whooperland – A photographer’s journey with whooping cranes, self-published in 2024. He was featured in the Nebraska Public Media documentary Crane Song and co-produced Great Plains – America's Lingering Wild, based on his book of the same title, released on PBS in 2013.
In 2011, Mike co-founded Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) in partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Michael Farrell Photography and Fine Art. Today, it is a conservation storytelling project that informs scientific research, builds educational content, and tells stories of a Great Plains watershed in motion. The documentary Follow the Water, based on the project and Mike's traverse across the Platte Basin watershed, was released on PBS nationally in 2019.
Mike is a faculty member in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a Fellow with the Center for Great Plains Studies and the Daugherty Water for Food Institute, a member of The Photo Society, and a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers.
He lives with his family and a collection of unruly animals in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“Mike’s idea of a good time is to hike for miles, with a full pack of gear on, in the dark, into a stiff wind, at twenty below zero, just to sleep in a snowbank beside a stream on the slim chance that trumpeter swans may appear in from of him when the light finally comes. And sometimes they do. And we’re all richer for it. ”
-
2025 – Into Whooperland, Gold Medal, Nature Category, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs)
2025 – Into Whooperland, Honorable Mention, Foreword INDIES Book Awards
2025 – Howard Weigers Award, University of Nebraska–Lincoln School of Natural Resources Wildlife Club
2023 – 34th Annual Literary Heritage Award
2020 – J. Sherwood Chalmers Medal, The Garden Club of America
2017 – Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, Sierra Club
2017 – Nebraska Statehood Forever Stamp selection, U.S. Postal Service
2017 – Named one of 150 Notable Nebraskans
2017 – Environmental Impact Award, North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA)
2016 – Nebraska Master Naturalist
2016 – Legislative Resolution 627, Nebraska Legislature
2010 – Great Plains, Nebraska Book Award winner
2010 – Great Plains, PROSE Book Award, Association of American Publishers
2010 – Great Plains, Distinguished Book Prize, Center for Great Plains Studies, UNL
2010 – Great Plains, Gold Medal, Best Regional Non-Fiction, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs)
2009 – Mission Award, North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA)
2005 – On Ancient Wings, Nebraska Book Award winner
2005 – On Ancient Wings, Gold Medal, Nature Category, Foreword INDIES Book Awards
2005 – On Ancient Wings, Finalist, Environment & Nature Category, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs)
2004 – Conservation Education Award, The Wildlife Society
2003 – Highly Commended, BBC International Wildlife Photographer of the Year
2001 – Award of Excellence, Science/Natural History, 58th Annual Pictures of the Year (POY)
-
Whooping Crane Chronicles – Listen Here – Mike has conversations with scientists, artists, and landowners who all have a shared connection: their love for whooping cranes.
93 – Listen Here – Highlighting the people, farms, ranches, and communities across all 93 counties in Nebraska.
All About Books – Listen Here – Weekly book reviews, recommendations, and literary interviews.
Ranchlands Podcast – Listen Here – Conversations about modern ranching, conservation, and land stewardship.
The Nature Photographer by NANPA – Listen Here – Insights and stories from professional nature photographers.
I Love Photography – Listen Here – News, trends, and discussions for passionate photographers.
Do Less Marketing – Listen Here – Simple strategies for creatives to market smarter, not harder
-
May 2025 – The Nature Conservancy Magazine (Issue 2, 2025): featured review of Into Whooperland by Jennifer Winge
January 2025 – Wall Street Journal: Into Whooperland book review “The Beauty of the Whooping Crane” by Julie Zickefoose
April 2024 – National Geographic magazine: “Going the Distance: The Perilous and Inspiring Journey of Whooping Cranes”
Fall 2023 – Sierra Magazine: “How to Think Like a Watershed”
Summer 2020 – Audubon Magazine: “Meet the Dipper”
-
2024 – The Nebraska Sandhills — Edited by Monica Norby, Judy Diamond, Aaron Sutherlen, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Kim Hachiya, Doug Norby & Michael Forsberg
2017 – Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology — Daniel Simon
2017 – Grasses of the Great Plains — James Stubbendieck, Stephan L. Hatch, and Cheryl D. Dunn
2016 – The Second Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas — Wayne J. Mollhoff
2016 – The Snowbound Anthology — Andrew Pollock
2015 – Jewels of the Plains — Claude A. Barr
2014 – Wild Again: The Struggle to Save the Black-Footed Ferret — David Jachowski
2006 – The Echo Maker — Richard Powers
2004 – The Encyclopedia of the Great Plains — David J. Wishart
-
Whooping Crane (Grus americana) family consumes a diversity of aquatic vertebrates during fall migration stopover at the Platte River, Nebraska. Western North American Naturalist. Authors: Caven, Andrew J.; Koupal, Keith D.; Baasch, David M.; Brinley Buckley, Emma M.; Malzahn, Jenna; Forsberg, Michael L.; and Lundgren, Mariah.
Capturing change: the duality of time-lapse imagery to acquire data and depict ecological dynamics. Ecology & Society. Authors: Emma Brinley Buckley, Craig Allen, Michael Forsberg, Michael Farrell, Andrew Caven.
Hitching a ride: First record of a Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus) in eastern Nebraska. Nebraska Academy of Sciences. Authors: Keith Geluso, Michael Forsberg
One home is a house for many: biodiversity associated with an American beaver lodge. The Scientific Naturalist. Authors: Tye, SP, ML Forsberg, EM Brinley Buckley, JS Dale, K Geluso, AM Siepielski, and MJ Harner.
Phenology of a North American beaver (Castor canadensis) lodge near the Platte River, Nebraska, unveiled by time-lapse photography. Society for Freshwater Science. Authors: Emma Brinley Buckley, Keith Geluso, Michael Forsberg
Assessing biological and environmental effects of a total solar eclipse with passive multimodal technologies. Ecological Indicators. Authors: Emma Brinley Buckley, Andrew Caven, Benjamin Gottesman, Mary J. Harner, Bryan C Pijanowski, Michael Forsberg
Biological and Environmental Datasets from August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. Data in Brief, Authors: Emma Brinley Buckley, Andrew Caven, Benjamin Gottesman, Mary J. Harner, Bryan C Pijanowski, Michael Forsberg
Image by Grant Reiner