Fort Churchill now peaceful but has seen share of strife in past (LVRJ)

FT. CHURCHILL, Nev. — Stripped of roofs, windows and doors, stark adobe ruins remain of buildings that once comprised Nevada’s first military installation. Strife between native Paiutes and white settlers in 1860 resulted in the establishment of Fort Churchill east of Carson City. Now preserved as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, the outpost saw nearly a decade of active use during turbulent times.

Fort Churchill lies about 390 miles from Las Vegas. Southern Nevadans traveling north on U.S. 95 toward Reno turn at Schurz onto Alternate U.S. 95 through Yerington to reach the park. Follow the short, paved park road leading to a visitor center near the ruins.

Read the complete story at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Environmental cleanup of colony site complete

Nevada Division of Environmental Protection

Brownfields loan clears the way for redevelopment

RENO, Nev. — The cleanup of environmental contamination at a future retail site on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony was completed using a $950,000 federal loan from the State of Nevada Brownfields Program, made possible by a $2 million grant from Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP).

“This is a historic moment for all of the entities involved,” said Leo Drozdoff, NDEP administrator. “The project is the first of its kind to be completed in Nevada and the first on an Indian-owned site in the entire western region.”

The loan helped the Colony complete the final phase of the cleanup of petroleum and lead contamination left by previous tenants of the site located on East Second St., just east of U.S. 395. Previous businesses located there included an auto storage facility and a radiator repair shop. The recently completed cleanup was accomplished by digging out and hauling away the contaminated soil. Construction of a large retail store will begin on the site in the near future.

High Desert Council gets federal funds for new projects in southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS — Laurelle Hughes, president, High Desert Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc., and Ron Davidson, acting state conservationist for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Nevada, have signed an agreement to partner on five new projects in southern Nevada.

The five projects will stimulate economic development and increase conservation efforts in southern Nevada. “We’re really excited about these new opportunities to help our rural areas,” said Hughes. “The projects will create jobs and make the areas better places to live.”

VIDEO: Nevada’s Wild Horses: The gentling process

With the Western States Wild Horse and Burro Expo occuring this weekend in Reno, we went behind the scenes at the Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City to see how Nevada’s feral horses are trained and gentled so that the animals can be adopted to the public.