In the early 1980s, the late National Geographic Society photographer turned archivist Volkmar Wentzel was delving through storage when he stumbled onto something both breathtaking and heartbreaking: a box of delicate glass panels, most of them the size of postcards, displaying color images captured in the early 20th century. Many were deteriorating, their once crisp scenes speckled with ghostly snowflakes, obscured by halos, and otherwise rendered surreal by time and neglect. This week’s photos of the week take a look at the race to save those early color photographs. And our archival images are a selection of gorgeous photos of nature being restored on Native lands.

PHOTOGRAPH BY W. ROBERT MOORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION

PHOTOGRAPH BY JACK DYKINGA

Back in 2010, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga traveled around the U.S. photographing a remarkable story in Indian country—tribes whose lands were once taken from them are setting an example for how to restore the environment. This shot captures the “in-your-face" mountains of Montana’s Mission Range where they meet the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JODY MACDONALD

The wild is a proving ground

When the terrain is unforgiving, National Geographic photographer Jody MacDonald captures what it takes to meet the wild with confidence.

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter, which was edited and curated by William O'Connor with the help of National Geographic’s photo team. It was produced by Alisher Egamov. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here to catch next week’s Photo of the Week newsletter.