Pat Mulroy

Conservation and development: Nevada's unique public lands process draws renewed attention

No other state has undertaken similar efforts offsetting development for conservation in the way that Nevada has. Nevada’s lands bills hold a unique place among federal conservation strategies and have garnered bipartisan support, bypassing traditional political wisdom of Republicans supporting privatization while Democrats favor environmental protections.

'Phenomenal boon': How Nevada's signature public lands law ushered in growth, conservation

In Nevada, SNPLMA has invested billions of dollars in the state and powered growth throughout the region, while critics have charged that it has enabled suburbanization and sprawl, straining already-precarious water resources.

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Indy Environment

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People recreate on Colorado River-fed Lake Mojave near Katherine Landing, just north of Laughlin, on Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Ronda Churchill/The Nevada Independent).

No one wants another dust bowl

No one wants another dust bowl, yet increased water demand, drier conditions and warmer temperatures are causing considerable uncertainty for the struggling river.

‘We haven't failed yet:’ With a new water year, Colorado River remains in crisis

This week’s Indy Environment newsletter recaps a Colorado River panel hosted by The Nevada Independent at IndyFest, our annual news festival.

IndyFest 2022: What you need to know

This two-day conference hosted by The Nevada Independent’s editors and reporters is headlined by a town hall-style debate between Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak and his Republican challenger, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

'We built a house of cards:' Deal or not, Colorado River states stare down major cuts

This week’s Indy Environment is focused on the ongoing interstate negotiations to cut Colorado River water use and stabilize Lake Mead.

Las Vegas turns on low-level Lake Mead pumps designed to avoid a ‘Day Zero’

As water levels at Lake Mead continue to drop, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has turned on its third pumping station, meant to protect Las Vegas from a worst-case scenario.

‘Extremely serious:’ Federal regulators declare first-ever shortage on the Colorado River as water officials look toward a drier future

Federal officials declared the first-ever shortage on the Colorado River, what experts described as a wake-up call for the roughly 40 million people who rely on it.

Our roads were built for cars, but a new law could start to make them safer for cyclists

This week’s Indy Environment looks at a bill recently approved by the Legislature that aims to address bicycle and pedestrian safety by making a number of small (but significant) changes to statute. It’s not a panacea, but activists see it as a step in the right direction.

Where groundwater gives way to warm springs, a fight continues over building a new desert town outside Las Vegas

A housing developer and a powerful water utility, locked into past contracts, are caught in a fight, playing out in hydrologic reports and hearing rooms, over what might seem a simple question: How much water is there?