Heather Physioc / HP Conservation
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heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Heather Physioc / HP Conservation
@heatherphysioc.bsky.social
210 followers 150 following 270 posts
Chief Discoverability Officer at VML • Drum Search Leader of the Year • Keynote Speaker • Outdoor & Conservation Journalist + Photographer • Prints available, 50% of Sales to Conservation Causes • Dog's Best Friend • https://hpconservation.com
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heatherphysioc.bsky.social
It would be supremely cool if you followed my conservation photography on Instagram. 🥰 www.instagram.com/hpconservati...
December 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
My latest story, and first for Sierra Magazine, is about brand new wildlife crossings built into a major infrastructure project on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to help with the moose-vehicle collision problem in the region. Come behind the scenes with me. hpconservation.com/news/alaskas...
A close-up of a bull moose alongside a screenshot of Heather Physioc’s Sierra Magazine feature, “A Road Less Deadly,” about Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula wildlife crossings designed to reduce moose-vehicle collisions.
November 17, 2025 at 2:55 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🦋 Hey everyone! I just published my latest printable coloring book page + activity sheets that teach kids about the monarch butterfly's epic 3,000-mile journey, life cycle, and story!

It's perfect for classrooms, families, or rainy-day fun. 👉 hpconservation.com/my-wildlife-... #monarch #coloring
Two-page My Wildlife Wonders activity: a monarch butterfly coloring sheet with facts and a second page featuring a life cycle labeling activity and critter crossword for kids.
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Peekskill, New York, last 40 years: 1 ton of lead, 40,000 tons nitrous oxide, 840 pounds mercury, 8 million tons toxic ash, 31.8 million tons greenhouse gas emissions, home to sewage treatment, chemical and gypsum plants on the polluted Hudson River. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
October 18, 2025 at 8:37 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Gross. sherwood.news/tech/reading...
October 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
"When tech giants interact with publishers and writers, it’s a lot like when Lennie pets the puppy in Of Mice and Men." mailchi.mp/aboard/zkd26...
October 15, 2025 at 8:37 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
📍 This individual #monarch was photographed at Indiana Dunes. My hometown of Kansas City lies in a mid-latitude corridor through which these migrating monarchs flow. What happens locally, like habitat loss and using pesticides or creating habitat and providing food sources, can affect their passage.
October 7, 2025 at 11:03 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🦋 Monarch butterflies captivate humans with their beauty, transformation and epic multigenerational migrations. Once hundreds of millions strong across North America, #monarchbutterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate stress.

📸 Shot on @canonusa.bsky.social
A monarch butterfly with vivid orange wings bordered in black and dotted with white spots clings to the feathery purple blooms of a meadow blazing star (Liatris) in bright sunlight. The butterfly’s wings are fully open, revealing their intricate veining and contrast against the soft, green, blurred background of native prairie plants at Indiana Dunes National Park.
October 7, 2025 at 11:03 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Search fragmentation and AI are rewriting the search playbook. 🚀 At #AHREFSEvolve in San Diego, I’ll share how to cut through fragmentation - Google, marketplaces, social, AI/LLM search - and build a clear, modern discoverability strategy.

Details 👉 ahrefsevolve.com #SearchMarketing #AI
International search marketing keynote speaker and Chief Discoverability Officer of global ad agency VML Heather Physioc on a banner promoting the AHREFS Evolve Conference in San Diego, on September 14 and 15, 2025.
October 2, 2025 at 7:07 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
"If used irresponsibly, LED technology can have hidden costs and unintended consequences... Bright blue-white LEDs at night disrupt the circadian rhythm of living things." from the latest edition of the Missouri Conservationist about preserving #DarkSky mdc.mo.gov/magazines/mi...
Composite graphic of a night sky background with a white headline reading "DARK SKIES" about preserving Missouri's dark skies from irresponsible LED over-usage and over-illumination, which can disrupt natural ecosystems and wildlife rhythms.
September 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
On the new episode of the Human-Centered podcast, host Nick Brunker and I talk about the front lines of the #AIsearch revolution and how brands can navigate and thrive in this new discoverability landscape. Listen here, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
August 25, 2025 at 7:15 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Kansas City–based conservation #photojournalist and writer Heather Physioc has earned 6 awards in the Outdoor Writers Association (OWAA) 2025 Excellence in Craft contest, celebrating outstanding outdoor media across writing, #photography and other creative disciplines. kctrvlr.com/domestic/hea...
August 24, 2025 at 4:14 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Good morning #OWAA2025! Looking forward to seeing you at 1pm ET TODAY for my keynote, "Discoverability for Outdoor Communicators" - and the next two days for workshops! Full schedule here owaa.org/2025-confere...
August 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
I will bring knowledge from working on well-known global enterprise brands to #OWAA2025 to help hundreds of outdoor communicators, creators, media and other professionals to navigate this wild, changing world of search and #AI.

REGISTER HERE: owaa.org/2025-confere...
August 15, 2025 at 2:37 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
My two worlds will collide next week at the Outdoor Writers Conference. By day, I'm Chief Discoverability Officer at VML. By night, I'm a conservation writer, photographer, and an active member of #OWAA.

Register to attend the event! owaa.org/2025-confere...
August 15, 2025 at 2:37 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
I am getting really hyped for the keynote and hands-on workshops on "Discoverability for Outdoor Communicators" at #OWAA conference next week in Chattanooga. Check out my workshop deets here: owaa2025.sched.com/event/1uxl4
Keynote slide deck presentation cover for "Discoverability Crash Course for Outdoor Communicators" workshop.
August 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
📷 Photograph: A stark black-and-white fine art portrait of a mature adult American bald eagle perched on a post near Medicine Bow in Wyoming.
Photographed on Canon USA R5
Edited in Adobe Lightroom
A bald eagle perches on a V-shaped wooden utility structure in Laramie, Wyoming, viewed from behind with its head turned slightly to the left. The image, in black and white, highlights the detailed layering of its dark feathers and pale head plumage. The bird’s powerful hooked beak and heavy talons are visible, and the rough texture of the weathered wood contrasts with the smooth, clouded sky. This raptor is a mature adult, identifiable by its fully white head and tail, common among breeding-age bald eagles.
July 30, 2025 at 5:37 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🦅 Many Americans don't realize how dangerously close we came to losing the #BaldEagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), one of our most iconic symbols. By 1963, only about 400-500 nesting pairs still lived in the lower 48 United States.

⬇️ A bit about this remarkable bird of prey's conservation history:
A bald eagle perches on a V-shaped wooden utility structure in Laramie, Wyoming, viewed from behind with its head turned slightly to the left. The image, in black and white, highlights the detailed layering of its dark feathers and pale head plumage. The bird’s powerful hooked beak and heavy talons are visible, and the rough texture of the weathered wood contrasts with the smooth, clouded sky. This raptor is a mature adult, identifiable by its fully white head and tail, common among breeding-age bald eagles.
July 30, 2025 at 5:37 AM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🕷️I waited my whole life to touch this spider, or ANY spider, always hesitant about the "creepy crawlies." But the sheer joy I felt as its padded little feet crossed my palm? Indescribable. I was grinning ear to ear, elated to feel the cool, smooth scales of the snakes as they moved across my skin.🐍
Tattooed woman's wrist holding a juvenile prairie kingsnake (Great plains rat snake) with the aid of an MDC naturalist
July 27, 2025 at 8:56 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🐍 I went behind the scenes with naturalist Lisa Richter at the Missouri Department of Conservation's #BurrOakWoods Conservation Nature Center site to meet Missouri’s native wildlife up close — including gently handling a Missouri tarantula and Great Plains rat #snakes (a.k.a. prairie kingsnakes).
Tattooed woman's wrist holding a black and white prairie kingsnake (Great plains rat snake)
July 27, 2025 at 8:56 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🕷️ I held a #tarantula for the first time — and it was incredible. ⬇️
A tattooed woman's hands holding a Missouri tarantula walking across her palms with the aid of an MDC naturalist
July 27, 2025 at 8:56 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🐏 I just shared my Bighorn Sheep "My Wildlife Wonders" post, with fun facts for animal lovers, and a FREE printable coloring page and activity sheet perfect for younger explorers. It's a fun way to spark curiosity about these amazing #animals! 🖍️ Happy coloring!

➡️ kctrvlr.com/my-wildlife-...
Preview graphic of an elementary school age children's coloring book page and activity worksheet for the endangered species bighorn sheep found in the American West. Great for use in classrooms or summer learning programs
July 22, 2025 at 11:58 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🐎The American #mustang, descended from Spanish horses brought to the Americas in the 1500s, has long symbolized the untamed spirit of the West. Once numbering in the millions, wild horse populations plummeted to just 17,000 by the early 1970s due to widespread roundups and commercial exploitation.
A small band of wild mustangs stands alert on the high plains near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, framed by a backdrop of open sky and rolling sagebrush. The horses - dark bay to black with windswept manes - gather protectively around a foal, their muscular bodies and upright posture signaling both strength and vigilance in the rugged Western landscape.
July 22, 2025 at 11:46 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
🐦 The familiar "peter-peter-peter" of the tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) heralded the impending arrival of sundown. A vocal flock flew into the oak tree over my campsite each evening, staying long enough to forage and recollect the group before moving on. #Birds
A small songbird, a tufted titmouse, perches on a lichen-covered tree branch against a clear blue sky. The bird faces forward, showing its pale grayish-white chest and belly, with darker gray wings and back. Its most distinctive feature is a short, tousled crest of feathers on top of its head, giving it a slightly scruffy appearance. The titmouse has large, dark, inquisitive eyes and a small, black beak. Budding branches with yellow-green tips frame the scene, suggesting early spring. The bird’s long, pale tail hangs straight down, and the overall lighting is bright and natural, highlighting the fine texture of its feathers.
July 20, 2025 at 6:47 PM
heatherphysioc.bsky.social
The sun dipped low in Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains. Wild turkeys flapped overhead to roost near my campsite. I was instantly transported to childhood evenings at my great-grandparents’ home in Woodward, watching those same strange shapes settle into the branches and become silhouettes. 🦃
A wild turkey perches high on a leafless, twisted branch at dusk in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Its large, rounded body is cloaked in rich, iridescent feathers that shimmer with bronze and copper tones as the low evening sun casts a golden glow across its back. The turkey's head is bare and pale with a wrinkled, bluish-red skin, dotted with small red wattles along its neck. It looks alert, with one beady eye sharply focused to the side and a slightly open beak as if mid-call. The strong, scaled legs grip the rugged bark, while its long tail feathers fan subtly behind it. Bare, spindly tree limbs frame the bird against a softly blurred backdrop of pale sky, creating a dramatic contrast between the sharp foreground detail and the quiet stillness of the evening forest.
July 15, 2025 at 11:22 PM