Carlton Ward Jr is a conservation photographer and National Geographic Explorer whose mission is to inspire appreciation and protection of Florida’s original nature and culture – the endangered wildness that is often hidden in plain sight but very much needs our attention to be saved.
Carlton began his career working with the Smithsonian Institution in Central Africa, leading to his first book, The Edge of Africa. In 2004, he retrained his focus on his native Florida, motivated by eight generations of family heritage and a drive to bring new attention and protection to the state’s under-appreciated wild heart. In 2009, Carlton published the award-winning book, Florida Cowboys. In 2010, he founded the Florida Wildlife Corridor project, which led to two National Geographic supported expeditions, which both produced award-winning books, PBS films and widespread outreach for the statewide vision to keep Florida wild.

In 2015, Ward launched the Path of the Panther project with his team at Wildpath, National Geographic and other partners. The project inspired the Florida Wildlife Corridor act of 2021 and achieved nearly 2 billion dollars in new funding for land conservation. The project also produced an award-winning film, Path of the Panther, streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu, and a new National Geographic book of the same title.