Consolidation. It's a convoluted issue that is seemingly everywhere. In this month's Indy Environment, I put a local push for firefighting consolidation into perspective.

This year in Nevada, it feels like we skipped false spring and actual spring and went right from winter to summer, with high temperatures blowing past records to bits.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump's administration made one of its most drastic moves yet by repealing a nearly 20-year-old rule that allows the federal government to limit greenhouse gas pollution while in Nevada, the state's division of environmental protection found that transportation drives nearly 40 percent of its emissions and that unless more aggressive state and federal policies are adopted, transportation emissions will not decrease.

While Nevada is renowned for its lack of precipitation, there's a hidden cost behind the seemingly endless streak of mild days and clear blue skies.

Remember the challenge of finding eggs during the bird flu outbreak, or when federal lawmakers were considering selling hundreds of thousands of acres of public land in Nevada? It feels like eons ago, but in reality, it was just a few months! A LOT happened in Nevada this year, so as 2025 wraps up, join me in taking a few minutes to look back at some of the biggest stories of the year. 

Turkeys are synonymous with Thanksgiving, but if you're looking to bag a bird in Nevada somewhere other than the grocery store or butcher shop, you need to plan ahead — really far ahead.

After I wrote about aquatic invasive mussels in Lake Mead, readers wrote in with a variety of questions and comments. Can they serve as a food source? Are boat inspections for the diminutive creatures a waste of money? Here, I address some of those reader topics.

The Desert Research Institute is piloting a study to examine the simultaneous effects of heat and wildfire smoke on Northern Nevadans. This month, I volunteer to be one of its guinea pigs.

The ways wildfires start are innumerable but they almost always have one thing in common: humans. This month, we look at how increased recreation leads to higher fire danger, potentially higher wildfire insurance rates and more restrictive access to outdoor spaces.

In this month's Indy Environment, we look at the biggest stories from July.

In Las Vegas, the shade from a lush tree can make a world of difference on a scorching summer day in one of the nation's fastest-warming cities. But they don't necessarily cool the air around them, according to a new study from scientists at the Desert Research Institute.

The proposed creation of a $3.7 billion U.S. Wildland Fire Service at the Department of Interior has raised some eyebrows. Nevada fire officials say whether they are one firefighting agency or several, they will continue to work together.

Monday's close of session means dozens of bills now await Gov. Joe Lombardo's signature. Here's a (far from comprehensive) rundown of some of the environmental and energy bills he'll consider.

Joshua trees, a symbol of the desert Southwest, face threats ranging from development to wildfires to a warming climate. For a decade, conservation groups have lobbied for them to be listed as endangered, and a recent court decision asks the federal government to once again consider protections.

Brown's Creek was one of the areas devastated by the 2024 Davis Fire that burned nearly 6,000 acres in south Reno. The trail, and the hiking experience it offers, isn't what it once was. Instead, it offers something different — a unique and intimate opportunity for Northern Nevada hikers to witness the destruction of, and regrowth, following a wildfire.

Friends of Red Rock Canyon recently purchased and installed adaptive equipment-accessible gates at three trailheads so that those with disabilities can use specially designed trail equipment to explore some of the canyon's more remote areas.

A bill introduced by Sen. Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas) would prohibit the sale of single-use plastic water bottles on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Five Great Basin National Park employees - about 20 percent of the park's staff - have been rehired after being laid off in February. But staffing uncertainty remains.

The Tahoe Basin's trees were stripped during the development of Nevada's silver mines, and a stand of old-growth trees at Emerald Point are among the largest remaining ponderosa pines in the Tahoe Basin. But the trees are at 'high risk' if a fire were to burn through, according to a new study.