What began as a newspaper editor's joke, became an international tourism draw for an 800-person Nevada town

Virginia City, Nevada, population 800, boasts a rich history of silver and gold mining that drew thousands to the town in the 1800s. But today, it's known more for something wholly unexpected in the American West: An annual weekend camel race. 

The town "looks like a film set of the Old West," reports Fil Corbitt for NPR's All Things Considered. "The sidewalks are wooden and the old storefronts are occupied by candy shops, souvenir emporiums and saloons. Off of the main street, at the base of a steep desert hill pocked with old mine shafts, dust whips through the fairgrounds." He asks Joe Hendricks, who owns the camels that will run the races, what it's like to ride them: "It feels like you're on a camel." 

Fair enough for a town whose history is likely more synonymous with riding horses. It's serious business in Virginia City, even if the origins of the races might not have been. It all began in the 1950s with editor of the local newspaper, Bob Richards, who "was nursing a hangover at The Delta Saloon," Corbitt reports. "He later recounted that he and the bartender were randomly joking about some nonexistent Labor Day camel races. When he went back to the paper, called the Territorial Enterprise, he found that he had space to fill and decided to write a joke story about the fictional race."

Such exaggerations were nothing new for the Enterprise, which, coincidentally, was the first place Samuel Clemens used his pen name, Mark Twain. Year after year, Richards would "recount" tales of the nonexistent camel races, and in 1960, the editor of the San Fransisco Chronicle upped the ante by offering to really bring the camels, and so, the Annual International Camel & Ostrich Races were born. 

This year marked the 67th running of the camels, and you can watch and read more about them from local TV news station, KOLO-8, and The Comstock Chronicle, the Enterprise's modern descendent.

Letting forests burn in a controlled way could be the only way to stop mega-wildfires from continuing

The United States is losing the battle against mega-wildfires, and the only way to reverse course might be through fire itself in the form of prescribed burning, reports Mark Betancourt for Grist. While the nation's wildfires have blazed their way into urban areas in recent seasons, most wildfires burn in the rural West.

"Over the past decade, so-called megafires — characterized not only by their size, often bigger than 100,000 acres, but by their severity, speed, and impact — have become more common. They now account for the bulk of the money spent on firefighting, with the federal government spending 10 times more on suppressing wildfires than it did 30 years ago," Betancourt reports. 

He writes: "This summer’s fire conditions have already been extreme. Nearly 73 percent of the Intermountain West is experiencing severe to exceptional drought, with temperatures breaking records across the country. Add to that last winter’s meager snowpack, which has left forests ready to burn. So far in 2026, the U.S. government has reported more than 53,000 wildfires that have burned over 8 million acres — about 3 million acres more than average over the past decade."

Betancourt reports that many fire scientists say letting smaller fires "run their course" and burn away excess fuel — like dead grasses, underbrush, and small trees — in forests across the West could help prevent future megafires from erupting. "Once the extra fuel is gone," Betancourt reports, "a semblance of balance is restored," which will allow humans to "make friends with natural, lower-severity ground fires by hardening human communities against them and letting them be."

Read more about the practice of prescribed burning, which Betancourt writes has been a part federal policy in some form or fashion since the 1990s, here.

Quick hits: New 'Product of USA' seal launched; mistaken inventions; farming worms win; a new weed killer

The label will require an affidavit be provided to the 
meatpacking company. (Photo via DTN)

Born. Raised. Harvested. Processed. That's the tagline for the new, voluntary USDA seal for U.S. meatpackers, intended to highlight "Product of USA" labeling for meat, poultry and egg products from U.S. farmers, Jennifer Carrico of Progressive Farmer reports. Unlike the previous "Product of USA" label, which only indicated that packaged food passed USDA inspections, the new label states that the meatpacker has proof that animals or eggs are in the U.S. throughout their life cycle. Labels can also be state-specific. Ethan Lane, from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, told Carrico, "You can now do a born, raised and harvested in Iowa label, through a USDA facility in Iowa." 

Goofs, flubs and unexpected outcomes are all part of inventions in the making, but in some cases, the mistakes turn into success. "From cornflakes to the pacemaker, some of our most beloved — and useful — products were born of blunders," reports Zlati Meyer of The Wall Street Journal. "The U.S. has repeatedly proved itself to be the land of luck. Harnessing happenstance has led to inventions that have changed the world." Read about 10 of the best mistaken inventions here. 

As earthworms move lime through farming soil, they help
 balance soil pH. (Photo by Blake Vince via Farm Journal)

Blake Vince is a Canadian farmer working to spread the word about no-till farming practices supported by worms. Vince likes to think of worms as "some of the most highly-valued help on his 1,200-acre Ontario, Canada, farm that never show up on a payroll sheet," reports Rhonda Brooks of Farm Journal. The well-known soil conservationist sees "earthworms as more than a sign of good soil — they’re central characters in how he farms, evaluates risk and stays profitable. . . . In a production system shaped by no-till, planting green and cover crops, he sees earthworms as the quiet workforce that’s helping hold the whole thing together."

The Herbert family in northern Iowa had old tractors that needed technology, but the upgrades that could take their machinery into the modern age weren't yet on the market. So, the Herbert family "developed the Cab Radio Upgrade Kit, a solution designed to bring modern connectivity to legacy equipment," reports Eduardo Morales of Farm Journal. "The project was a collaborative effort between T.L. Herbert, his wife, Rochelle, and their three teenage sons: Thomas, Mason and Colin. The idea sparked when Mason and Thomas grew tired of subpar audio options while working on their row-crop and cattle operation."

Part of being a farmer is battling weeds, and despite the perseverance of many farmers, sometimes the weeds seem to be winning, which explains why herbicides are so popular. This summer, one of the world’s biggest chemical companies, Syngenta, is releasing a new herbicide aimed at annihilating weeds in soybean and cotton crops. Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal reports, "Syngenta will begin selling a new weedkiller capable of eradicating grass weeds that have evolved to resist other common crop sprays." The chemical, called Virestina, will be sold and applied in South America first. 

After an unseasonably warm winter and spring, western states are heading into summer facing an "above-normal threat of wildfires," reports Grist. Predictive maps from the National Inter-agency Coordination Center show areas in the Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and northern California as high-risk for wildfires this summer based on "snow drought, rapid snowmelt, and a recent unprecedented heat wave." 

U.S. Forest Service headquarters will move from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah

Almost 90% of  U.S. Forest System land is in
the West. (Western Ag Network photo) 

The U.S. Forest Service headquarters will move from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, as part of the Trump Administration's continued efforts to shrink the USDA by closing "research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, reports Hannah Schoenbaum and Susan Montoya Bryan of The Associated Press. 

The restructuring will move 260 USFS staff positions to Salt Lake City, while 130 positions will stay in Washington. The move is expected to be completed by summer 2027.

Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins said the relocation will help "bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them," AP reports.

While western states encapsulate "nearly 90% of National Forest System land. . . Utah is only the 11th-ranked state for national forest coverage, with about 14,300 square miles," Schoenbaum writes. In contrast, Idaho has roughly 31,875 to 32,000 square miles of NFS land.

According to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden, Salt Lake City was chosen for its affordability, access to an international airport, and the state’s family-centric reputation, AP reports. "It’s a Democratic-led capital city in a red state with values rooted in the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church."

Taylor McKinnon, a director of the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, expressed concern that the relocation would benefit corporations seeking to mine or drill on public lands.

McKinnon told AP, "National forests belong to all Americans. Our nation’s capital is where federal policy is made and where the Forest Service headquarters belongs.”

Stymied Colorado River negotiations may need federal intervention and outside facilitators to reach an agreement

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, center, meets in January with governors and representatives 
of the seven Colorado River basin states. (Department of the Interior photo)

As negotiations among seven Western states stall over how to share the drying Colorado River, complex water negotiation experts Karen Schlatter and Sharon B. Megdal, writing for The Conversation, believe there is a path to end the deadlock and begin meaningful discussions that could lead to a water division agreement.

Schlatter and Megdal say the way to create successful discussions on contentious issues involves "learning together, understanding one another’s interests, working through conflict and developing inclusive solutions for diverse participants. And that works best with an outside facilitator."

Right now, the states are divided into subgroups "based on whether they are in the river’s Upper Basin – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – or the Lower Basin, which includes Arizona, Nevada and California," Schlatter and Megdal explain. "Each basin group holds strong positions and has generally been unwilling to shift."

Schlatter and Megdal point out that the Colorado River water conflicts seem like a battle because they are. The Colorado River negotiations include "all five of the most common sources of conflict between people: values, data, relationships, interests and structure."

Over time, negotiations between state water experts have likely become stagnant after so many conflict-filled discussions that a fruitful give-and-take agreement isn't currently possible. Schlatter and Megdal explain, "We believe it’s unreasonable – and unrealistic and unfair – to expect them to be experts at designing and facilitating an effective process for sorting out their differences. . . . Federal officials are not necessarily the best people to run the process either."

Perhaps the most hopeful possibility is for the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which has the authority to decide on water issues for states, to adopt "short-term rules that would give the states another chance to negotiate a longer-term deal – ideally with an unbiased third-party facilitator for support," they explain.

Recent historical water compromise agreements, such as the "collaborative and consensus-based planning process in the Yakima River Basin in Washington state or the Colorado River contingency plans to manage drought in 2019," can serve as examples, Schlatter and Megdal explain. "We believe that an agreement between the seven states is still possible."

Snow drought in Western states adds to regional water supply worries and takes a toll on winter tourism

Western states rely on winter snowpack for community
and farming water supplies. (Photo by Lamar, Unsplash)

Unlike most of the country, Western states are experiencing warmer-than-normal winter temperatures and haven't had enough snow to replenish water needed for drier months or sustain winter tourism, which helps to fuel their economy.

"An extreme snow drought and unusually warm weather are keeping skiers off the mountains, snowmobilers off the trails and water out of the rivers across much of the West," reports Jim Robbins for The New York Times.

Much of the West relies on thawing winter snowpack to provide water for residents, irrigation, trout streams and reservoirs throughout the year.

The lack of snowpack in the Colorado Rockies and the Colorado River Basin "adds to the 26-year-long megadrought in the region, which has led to extremely low levels in the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado River," Robbins explains. "Colorado is having its warmest winter since 1895."

The reason for the drastic change in snowfall and temperature between the last few years and this year "isn’t easily explained," Robbins adds. "Scientists have found that it is difficult to attribute the snow drought entirely to climate change."

Skiing tourism in Oregon has been particularly hard hit because there's been so little snow. Presley Quon, a spokesperson for Mt. Bachelor, a ski resort near Bend, Ore., told the Times, "It’s been a really rough season for ski resorts." Robbins adds, "Last year at this time, Mt. Bachelor had 109 inches of snow at its base; this year it has 27 inches."

At higher elevations, snowpack inches are at a more normal level; however, the runoff most communities rely on for water "comes from the middle and lower elevations, which cover a far greater area than the land at higher altitudes," Robbins explains. 

Despite the abysmal snowfall thus far, there's still time for snowpack levels to rebound. Robbins adds, "February, March and often April are the months when most of the snow usually falls in the mountains."

Opinion: Public lands should not be sold. Open lands are our shared 'inheritance. . . and space of democracy'

Humpback whale joyfully feeding in the Kenai Fjords, Alaska. (NPS Photo by K. Thoresen)

Even though lawmakers ultimately rejected the sale of public lands as part of the federal budget bill called the Big Beautiful Bill, that doesn’t mean the idea won't come around again. In her opinion for The New York Times, Terry Tempest Williams explains what motivated Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and other like-minded Republicans to push for the provision and why so many Americans opposed it.

Had it passed, the provision would have facilitated the sale of more than one million acres of public lands; however, the loss of public property wouldn't be the only consequence. "Lee claimed in each of his many revisions of the proposal that disposing of our public lands was a way to address the housing crisis," Williams writes. "But that was a ruse; housing experts have said it wouldn’t have made a dent in the problem. What the senator wanted was to establish a precedent — to normalize selling off our public lands to generate cash to pay for tax cuts. Open that door, and the open space of democracy closes."

Porcupine caribou mothers go to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 
Alaska for calving season. (Photo by P. Maher, CPAWS) 

As lawmakers wrangled over the provision, a dramatic rejection of the idea came from "over 100 conservation groups and public lands advocates, as well as hunters, anglers, ranchers, recreationists and right-wing influencers," Williams explains. The sale legislation failed because "in addition to Democrats, four Republican senators from Montana and Idaho refused to vote for it. . . five Republican House representatives from Western states said it was a 'poison pill.' . . . America’s public lands are safe — for now."

Americans made it known to Congress that their lands were not for sale. "Members of Congress learned once again that if they don’t support public lands, they risk being voted out of office, especially in the American West," Williams writes. "What we saw was collective outrage fueled by love — energy we must nurture and draw on in the months and years to come."

Lee isn't the first politician to look at federal lands and see the money privatization could bring. According to Williams, Americans must remain stalwart protectors of their public "inheritance" that remains home to vastly different kinds of wildlife and broad expanses of landscapes found nowhere else on the planet. Williams writes, "What I feel more deeply now is that open lands inspire open minds. This is the open space of democracy."