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The Sierra Nevada Ally
Oh, Henry! Family Heirloom Reveals 19th Century West
What if you could experience Yosemite free of traffic and crowds, as it was before automobiles roamed the country? This adventure will involve a horse-drawn carriage, rough dirt roads and no electronics or modern conveniences. But you get to travel with a like-minded relative to see “the most wonderful collection of waterfalls, precipitous cliffs, fantastic peaks and other scenic features anywhere in the world.”
The Big Release
I was up there, in the family’s face. They weren’t used to this, and acting kind of worried. But isn’t this what they wanted? It was the reason why they built their house so close to me. To take in the extra neutrons released from my rushing waters, to remind them that change is always happening.
Could the BLM’s new oil and gas rule lead to higher energy costs for Nevadans?
When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it was modernizing the leasing process for oil and gas drilling on public lands, it initially appeared the ruling didn’t carry significant implications for the state of Nevada. Although over 80% of land in Nevada is federally-owned and managed, there are few oil and gas reservoirs in the state.
Medicaid Unwinding Deals Blow to Tenuous System of Care for Native Americans
This story was originally published by KFF Health News and republished here with permission from The Daily Yonder. About a year into the process of redetermining Medicaid eligibility after the Covid-19 public health emergency, more than 20 million people have been kicked off the joint federal-state program for low-income families.
Mount Shasta challenges, inspires and teaches
In its early hours, my first climb on Mount Shasta bore a striking resemblance to my family’s previous effort 15 years earlier. On that occasion, my dad and uncle tried to take my older brother and cousin (ages 10 and 12) up the same route, Avalanche Gulch. But a fierce storm struck them in the night too. Dad’s tent broke in the wind and he and my brother had to huddle in my uncle’s shelter. Then the gusts swept the broken tent away, never to be seen again. The four suffered through a wet, sleepless and terrifying night. “I had my first serious conversation with God,” recalled cousin Peter. Their party made a strategic descent the next morning.
Catalyzing civic media movement is our way out of the ‘local news crisis’
Used with permission by The Objective. We are at a pivotal moment. A shift in the tone and tenor of the conversation around the “local news crisis” has been happening for years, due much in part to the continued growth of the civic media space and the perpetual decline of the commercial newspaper business.
Climbing, falling and learning on Yosemite’s “Little Big Wall”
My turn to lead on Yosemite’s Washington Column arrived about halfway up the 1,100-foot rock face. The climb’s sixth pitch was a suitable choice because it’s the easiest segment of a route that stretched my modest abilities. After examining the rock features, I sorted through my rack...
Pax Robinson challenging Reno’s masculine culture with “She’s on Fire” Art and Music Festival
Women are vastly underrepresented in many corners of the arts world. But, organizers are working to celebrate women artists for an upcoming one-day art and music festival, called She’s on Fire. “The dream for the event was an old-fashioned variety show format, but instead of accordion playing men in...
The Impact of Pack Provisions Amidst Rise of Food Insecurity
This article is a product of the Vibrant Voices Mentorship Program, dedicated to equipping journalism students with guidance and opportunities to elevate their academic and journalism careers. Financial strain on college students isn’t new. Between tuition and living expenses, there has been a constant barrier when it comes to budgeting...
May Day Is About More Than Just Pretty Flowers
May Day is viewed by many folks living in the Northern Hemisphere as the start of spring, hence the floral-adorned celebrations that have long accompanied the first day of the month. But a lesser-known aspect of May Day is attributed to the labor movement, which has used the day to highlight and fight for workers’ rights for more than five centuries. The fight continues today.
Will We Still Have National Monuments?
This could affect beloved places like Bandelier in New Mexico, Chiricahua and Organ Pipe in Arizona, Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado, Craters of the Moon in Idaho, Devils Postpile in California, Gold Butte in Nevada, Oregon Caves in Oregon, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, Upper Missouri River Breaks in Montana, Devils Tower in Wyoming, and San Juan Islands in Washington, to name a few.
Looting Tribal Land
This story was originally published by Barn Raiser, your independent source for rural and small town news. One early morning this March, elders of the Battle Mountain Band of Western Shoshone Indians were taking their daily walk around the Band’s reservation in Battle Mountain, Nevada. They were startled to come upon a bulldozer digging a trench. When they returned to the village, they went to the tribal office to ask what the work was for. Since no one had negotiated with the Band to purchase a right-of-way—legal authorization to use property for a particular purpose and time period—Band member Joseph Holley drove out to see what was up.
Arresting Students Who Protest Is Usually a Bad Thing
Used with permission from the Coachella Valley Independent. The turmoil at Columbia University ramped up Monday as simmering tensions on campus halted in-person classes and officials scrambled to ease security fears. The Ivy League school has become the epicenter of unrest on U.S. college campuses, turmoil that spread to New York University as well as Yale University, where dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Monday. Security concerns are so significant that Columbia officials decided to make all classes virtual on Monday just as Passover begins. In a clear sign of the spiraling crisis, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced the extraordinary step in a statement posted shortly after 1 a.m. ET, citing a desire to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps.” …Even the president weighed in.“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” Biden said when asked about the situation at Columbia.
Finding water in a news desert
You have the power to stop misinformation. When local news coverage is scarce, how do you find out what’s on the ballot in your community? As legacy news sources struggle – especially in rural areas – information becomes harder to find, and it can feel especially fraught as we prepare to vote. Meanwhile, pink-slime news outfits, which masquerade as local news sources but are funded by political partisans, and social media rumor mills are popping up to fill the void left by downsized or shuttered local news outlets.
Firecology
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects, the interactions between fire and the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem, and the role as an ecosystem process. Dry and just plain hot, you could literally fry an egg...
An Invitation to Play the Climate-Change Game
Author: Pepper Trail. Used with permission from Writers on the Range. Let’s play a game, the climate-change game that every living thing on Earth has no choice but to play, starting … now. The game is called Adapt/Move/Die, and the rules are simple. The object of the game...
The Final Push
In 1976, the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City was established “to enrich the quality of life by cultivating arts and culture for all” and one of the truest ways that the Arts Center is fulfilling its mission is with the purchase of a new mobile stage to support its popular summer concert series.
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The Sierra Nevada Ally is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on the environment/science, k-12 education, governance, and arts reporting relevant to northern Nevada and Tahoe Sierra.
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