Clay Bolt

Background

About Clay Bolt

Clay Bolt is a Pollinator Conservation Expert, Wildlife Communications Leader & Award-Winning Photographer on a Mission to Help North America's Native Pollinators Thrive. As Manager of Pollinator Conservation and Great Plains Communications for World Wildlife Fund-US, I'm driving critical initiatives to protect our native bees—small creatures with enormous ecological impact—and supporting WWF’s efforts to keep the Great Plains in grass. Career Highlights: • Founded World Wildlife Fund-US’ Pollinator Protection & Pesticides Reduction Initiative (2023) • Played a leading role in the successful campaign to secure Endangered Species Act protection for the rusty-patched bumble bee—a landmark victory making it the first bee in the continental US to receive this crucial safeguard (2017) • Led initiative with leading companies to develop project (One Square Foot) to reseed over acres of previously plowed grasslands on working ranchlands to benefit pollinators, soil health, songbirds, livestock, and more (2022-23) • Made international headlines in 2019 as the first photographer to document the living Wallace's Giant Bee—the world's largest bee—with four-person expedition to rediscover this "lost" species in Indonesia's remote North Maluku islands • My photography and words have appeared in many of the world’s leading publications including National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, The Hill, and National Wildlife • Two-time honoree in the Natural History Museum of London’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition—the “Oscars” of wildlife photography (2022 & 2024) Current Focus: Supporting farmer transition from neonicotinoid pesticides through technical assistance and increased access to non-treated seeds. In the process of documenting every bumble bee species across the Americas for two pioneering books with Zona Tropical / Cornell University Press and Princeton University Press. My epic journey from North to South America is capturing these remarkable insects' beauty, ecological significance, cultural connections, and the urgent threats they face. Through powerful imagery and advocacy, I transform scientific knowledge into conservation action that protects our planet's most vital—yet overlooked—species.