Science Distilled: Protecting the desert

Greater than all of us is the environment that sustains life, offers its beauty, and has worth beyond any dollar value we could place on it. But if our reverence for nature does not acknowledge the care taken by the present and past stewards of the places we live, work, and play, our celebration lacks a heartbeat.

This event brings together a group of these stewards, who bring their talents in storytelling, science, organizing, and educating to the topic of protecting the desert. As we mark Earth Day this year, we explore Indigenous and Western perspectives on preservation of species such as the Lahontan cutthroat trout and the Las Vegas bearpoppy, as well as sacred sites such as Pyramid Lake and the Colorado River system. Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have ancestral roots in the deserts of the Great Basin and Southwest.  What does it take to acknowledge this important…