Nevada

Better Know a Swing State: Nevada

Published

2 years ago

September 24, 2024

Besides the gaming cities of Las Vegas and Reno, folks here may not know much about the Sagebrush State, so, if you’re encouraging folks there to vote for Harris/Walz, want to visit or are just curious, here are a few nuggets from my travels.

Great Basin National Park is awesome, with impressive cave tours, dark skies filled with stars, beautiful mountain views, and best of all the ancient Bristlecone Pine trees above on Wheeler Summit. The Great Basin is actually a huge geologic and heritage area encompassing virtually all of Nevada and parts of several neighboring states. The roads are long and lonely, hiking over 10,000’ is strenuous, but the park is worth the effort!

I visit national park units, but Valley of Fire State Park deserves a mention here too. Less than an hour’s drive from Vegas, you can find Arch Rock, Balancing Rock & Fire Wave, which is made of beautiful layered pink and beige sandstone.

The Old Spanish Trail, California & Mormon Pioneer Trails and the Pony Express all have stops here you can visit. There are also fossil sites and Native American spiritual sites. And much of Lake Mead NRA is on the Nevada side of the Colorado River, with good kayaking above and below the Hoover Dam.

Fun facts: the Silver State also created great fortunes from the Comstock Lode near Virginia City, including the Citizen Kane Hearst and the Stanford families. It’s also called the Battle Born State, as it rushed to join the Union during the Civil War. And the actual state name comes from the Spanish meaning ‘snowy’, referring to the mountains seen by Spanish explorers in winter.

While the wide-open spaces may seem empty, to me the long highways are liberating, especially when the speed limit is 80. I love taking in the views, stopping in quirky towns, having a sarsaparilla at an old cowboy saloon, or wandering nervously around one of the many ghost towns.

Hope some background when writing postcards or making calls to Nevadans helps Kamala Harris & Tim Walz win the jackpot of Nevada’s six electoral votes this election! Thanks for reading!

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Nevada

UNR tests whether cow manure can help restore Nevada landscapes after wildfires

Published

9 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

UNR tests whether cow manure can help restore Nevada landscapes after wildfires

After decades of cheatgrass-fueled wildfires across Nevada, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno are testing whether cattle can help restore damaged rangelands by spreading native seeds as they graze.

Cheatgrass, an invasive plant common across the Great Basin, dries out early and can fuel larger wildfires, making it harder for native vegetation to return. UNR postdoctoral scholar William Richardson said the plant helps create a self-reinforcing cycle.

“Cheatgrass grows, it creates more wildfires, that allows more cheatgrass to grow, and it becomes a bigger and bigger issue. That’s why we’re seeing all these mega fires spreading across the Great Basin,” Richardson said.

The challenge continues after flames are out. In Nevada’s arid climate, native plants can struggle to reestablish, while cheatgrass often returns quickly.

UNR tests whether cow manure can help restore Nevada landscapes after wildfires

“We struggle with getting five to eight inches of rain a year. Trying to restore a native community in those very arid conditions are extremely difficult,” Richardson said.

Ewe won’t believe it: Sheep munch away at Reno’s wildfire worries in Arrowcreek area

Ranchers already use targeted grazing to reduce cheatgrass. Now, UNR researchers are studying whether cattle can also help reseed the landscape. The approach mixes native grass seeds into protein supplements cattle already eat. Researchers then track whether the seeds can survive digestion and be spread naturally across the range after being deposited in manure.

“We’re already using cattle to combat cheatgrass through targeted grazing, and the ultimate goal is to bring native species back across the landscape, so why don’t we combine those two ideas?” Richardson said.

In lab testing, researchers evaluated special seed coatings designed to help some seeds survive a cow’s digestive system. The results showed certain species could make it through the process and still germinate after being deposited in manure, Richardson said, though some seeds need more protection than others.

UNR tests whether cow manure can help restore Nevada landscapes after wildfires

“Some species naturally have a very thin seed coat and require more protection, while others can go through the gut of a cow easy peasy lemon squeezy,” he said.

The project is expected to move into field testing this fall at Horseshoe Ranch near Eureka, where researchers will track whether seeds can not only survive digestion but also establish new plants on the landscape.

“It’s a passive way to restore the landscape. Instead of having to go in with a tractor or seed from an airplane, you can use cows that are already there,” Richardson said.

UNR tests whether cow manure can help restore Nevada landscapes after wildfires

Researchers said the method is not intended to replace traditional restoration work, but to add another tool for land managers and ranchers. If the field trials are successful, they said the approach could eventually help restore thousands — or even hundreds of thousands — of acres across the Great Basin.

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