Jim was raised in the jungles of Belize. As a young boy he would spend weeks at a time in the Belizean bush hunting, guiding and learning. He has run a cattle ranch in Belize and currently runs a jungle lodge specializing in jungle expeditions in the Cayo District called Mountain Equestrian Trails or MET.

Jim was the first person in recent times to cross the Maya Mountain divide - not once but twice. Both times he was expedition leader, leading groups of 20 from the Cayo District to the Toledo District. He also pioneered the kayaking of the Sibun River, hiking two days with inflatable kayaks and gear from the Mountain Pine Ridge into the Sibun Gorge.

Marguerite Bevis was born in Texas and was trained as a registered nurse. After marrying Jim, they moved to Belize and she helped to manage a cattle ranch. She now manages a jungle lodge in the Cayo District of Belize called Mountain Equestrian trails, or MET.

Marguerite also home schools her 4 children. Her eldest, Aaron, is now an accomplished guide with one of Belize's foremost adventure tour operators.

Marguerite accompanied Jim on his second expedition down the Sibun River by kayak, cooking for 4 guests. She is also very active in the environmental movement of Belize, having help to set up the organization around the Slate Creek Reserve in Belize.

Ed Boles is a PhD student at Jackson State in Mississippi. Ed is studying the macro and microfauna of freshwater river systems. One of the main purposes of this expedition was to allow Ed to collect a reference sample of micro and macro invertebrates from as high in the watershed of the Sibun River as possible.

Ed is also an accomplished artist. His pen and ink prints of Belizean wildlife grace books and posters throughout Belize. He has also designed logos for many of the businesses in Belize and designed emblems for T-shirts.

Ed is very involved in the environmental movement in Belize. He published the first scientific bibliography for Belize in the late 1980’s and has performed many environmental impact studies throughout the country. Ed is very involved in establishing the Sibun River corridor for the wildlife corridor project in Belize. He is doing his PhD work on the Sibun River.

Ed is married and has one boy. He lives part time in Camalote outside of Belmopan Belize, and the rest of the time in Mississippi near Jackson State College where he is doing his research.

As with most photographers, Tony has very few pictures of himself, and none from the expedition. The image to the right was taken on the barrier reef with his two boys.

Tony has lived in Belize for ten years, and first came to Belize in 1979 with the Smithsonian Institution. He was trained as a marine biologist and is still involved in helping to manage and conserve Belize's vast marine resources.

Having photographed most of his life, Tony turned professional 5 years ago and established Tony Rath Photography, a stock photography business specializing in wildlife and travel images from Belize and the region.

One of the main purposes of this expedition was to collect images of the upper Sibun watershed to use in attempts to help protect the Sibun River's environment.

Tony is also webmaster for the Belize by Naturalight Website, a website specializing in all things dealing with Belize.