Dennis A. Cowals (12 May 1945 22 October 2004) was an American photojournalist and publisher who contributed many photos to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

Early career

Cowals graduated from the

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

with a degree in journalism, and went on to attended the University of Alaska for his post-graduate studies in 1967. He worked as a photographer and news editor at the university starting in 1968. He became press secretary for congressman

Don Young Donald Edwin Young (June 9, 1933 – March 18, 2022) was an American politician from Alaska. He is the List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service, longest-serving Republican Party (United States), Republican in House ...

in 1971. Environmental Protection Agency sponsored DOCUMERICA project began in the early 1970s. Cowals was hired to photograph the Alaskan landscape before and during the construction of the

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...

. Hundreds of photos he took during this time period have since been published. He focused on both ground and aerial photos of geography, flora, and fauna. They are now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

Later life

Cowals was part of the

Mount McKinley Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helma ...

hang-gliding expedition on June 2, 1976. He was part of a support crew that saw four pilots launch from the top of the mountain. He wrote about the experience in a 1976 article for '' Mariah''. In 1980, he launched a search for the Kad'yak. He later worked as an author and rescue guide. Cowals died on 22 October 2004 of lung cancer. He was survived by his son, Dawson.

Publications

Cowals was the editor and publisher of Alaska Fieldbooks. *Cowals, Dennis "The Expedition that Fell from the Sky," ''Mariah'' (Winter 1976), pp. 41 ff. * *

Gallery

References

American photographers 1945 births 2004 deaths Place of birth missing {{US-photographer-stub