June 2025
NVFCP was thrilled to join the party at the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Basin & Range National Monument—and what a celebration it was! There was an awesome turnout and the event doubled as a BioBlitz, where citizen scientists teamed up with experts of every -ology (think ecology, biology, botany—you name it!) to document the incredible biodiversity of the monument.
By day, teams spread out across the landscape spotting, recording, and sampling everything from wildflowers to wildlife. Lizards were skillfully wrangled with special poles and snakes made surprise appearances along the roads. By night, things got even more exciting! Traps were set for small mammals and bats were netted at watering holes.
All this data wasn’t just for fun (though it was a blast)—scientists also took measurements, samples, and notes to help answer real research questions about the monument’s ecosystems. Nearly 1,000 observations and 268 species were logged into iNaturalist. Not bad for a weekend’s work!
The heart of the action was Mt. Irish Campground, nestled within the stunning 640-acre Mt. Irish Archaeological District just west of Hiko, NV. On day one, NVFCP kicked things off with a cultural resource preservation briefing to make sure everyone knew how to explore responsibly. We also set up an outreach booth featuring local artifacts, sparking curiosity and encouraging volunteers to check out some of Lincoln County’s incredible public rock writing sites.
Nature, science, archaeology, and a little adventure—now that’s our kind of celebration!
Bat research photo by Steve Dudrow
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