Rhiannon Saegert

Environmental Reporter

Rhiannon Saegert joined the Las Vegas Sun in spring 2023 to cover water and environmental issues. Saegert previously reported on education and city government at newspapers in Oklahoma and Texas. Hobbies include video games and exploring river basins.

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Story Archive

Maintaining water security for Las Vegas a constant challenge, experts say: Thursday, May 16, 2024; Marco Velotta, chief sustainability officer for the city of Las Vegas, said the City of Las Vegas’ decisions around water use all contend with the long drought that’s consumed the Colorado River Basin. For example, he said the city banned evaporative cooling systems ...
Person admits pulling down historic tram tower during emergency, National Park Service says: Thursday, May 16, 2024; A person who damaged a historic aerial tram tower last month at Death Valley National Park turned themselves in, saying they did it as a last resort during an emergency, according to the National Park Service. The park service ...
Zero-emissions buses aimed at raising Las Vegas' clean public transport profile: Thursday, May 16, 2024; An annual clean energy assessment knocked Las Vegas for its inefficient transportation, something the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and city of Las Vegas plan to ...
UNLV team sets out to find a low-emission way to produce iron and steel: Thursday, May 9, 2024; Three UNLV professors are working on an iron-production method that doesn’t generate carbon emissions, part of an effort to clean up one of the world’s dirtiest industries. The U.S. Department of Energy’s ...
Utah approves water rights permit for lithium mine: Wednesday, May 8, 2024; The Utah Division of Water Rights approved a water rights permit for a lithium mine near a former uranium ore facility near the Green River, a major tributary of ...
BLM rule ‘encouraging’ to some groups, others fear it may be ‘window dressing’: Monday, May 6, 2024; The Bureau of Land Management has enacted a new rule allowing conservation groups and other entities to lease and rehabilitate damaged public land. The rule puts conservation uses on par with commercial uses such as ...
Devils Hole pupfish population reaches a 25-year high in census: Nye County cavern is sole habitat for endangered species; Wednesday, May 1, 2024; A population spurt for the Devils Hole pupfish, a critically endangered fish at Death Valley National Park, is giving scientists cause for optimism, the National Park Service said. Scientists from the park service, the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 191 pupfish at Devils Hole over the course of ...
Valley of Fire State Park to replace visitor center with new facility: Thursday, April 25, 2024; Valley of Fire State Park will replace its small, outmoded visitor center with a 17,000 square-foot facility — a $33 million project — slated to wrap up in fall 2025 ...
Water experts provide list of best greenery for desert-dwelling consumers: Monday, April 22, 2024; April is one of the busiest times of the year at Moon Valley Nurseries on Eastern Avenue, with residents eager to plant trees and bushes to take advantage of the warmer spring weather.
Nevada State Contractors Board: Solar company manager took money, didn’t perform work: Friday, April 19, 2024; The head of a Las Vegas solar company is facing felony theft charges for allegations of taking money from customers but not delivering work as promised, according to the Nevada State Contractors Board ...
BLM: Endangered wildflower faces further damage from Esmeralda County mine: Tuesday, April 16, 2024; An endangered desert flower could lose more of its limited habitat to a proposed lithium mine near Rhyolite Ridge in Esmeralda County, according to a Bureau of Land Management draft environmental statement released Monday.
Clark County issues seasonal advisory for ozone, wildfire smoke: Thursday, April 4, 2024; The Clark County Division of Air Quality this week issued its annual seasonal advisory for ozone and wildfire smoke, which will remain in effect until Sept. 30 ...
Nevada lawmakers back bill that aims to free up Hoover Dam funding: Saturday, March 30, 2024; Everything about the Hoover Dam, hailed as an engineering marvel of the 20th century, is massive. Now the 89-year-old structure is due for some massive maintenance ...
Federal funds will cover rebuilding boardwalk at Red Rock Canyon: Thursday, March 21, 2024; A $350,000 plan to rebuild a battered boardwalk at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is one small part of $27 million in federal funds earmarked for ...
Plan would regulate air tours, reduce noise over Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Tuesday, March 19, 2024; A plan to limit noise from plane and helicopter tours flying over Lake Mead National Recreation Area is in the works and available for public comment starting Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration ...
Does quest for minerals needed for clean energy endanger water supply?: Monday, March 18, 2024; Kevin DesRoberts watches as speckled dace and Amargosa pupfish dart through one of the springs at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a sight environmentalists are working to save.
“Any changes in the landscape, any alteration of the soil vegetation could wind up changing how water moves across the ...
Nevada officials urge US to get strict on tighter EPA auto emissions rules: Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024; Local air quality and renewable energy advocates met with state Sen. Dina Neal today to urge the EPA and the Biden Administration to follow through on stricter emissions standards for automakers.
Lake Mead’s water level returns to 2021 level, but its health remains fragile: Monday, Feb. 26, 2024; Lake Mead’s water level climbed back to 2021 numbers this month thanks to winter precipitation and resulting snow melt.
Nevada officials praise new EPA regulations on soot pollution: Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024; An incremental change in EPA soot regulations falls short of experts’ advice, but U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, state Sen. Roberta Lange and the Nevada Conservation League said the new regulations are still a victory.
DRI, UNLV join regional effort to confront climate change issues: Friday, Feb. 16, 2024; A team of researchers at the Desert Research Institute and UNLV is joining forces with other regional universities to study climate challenges in the water-scarce Southwest as part of ...
Nevada water law ruling backs state engineer’s powers, further stalls Coyote Springs project: Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024; Conservationists are calling a recent decision by the Nevada Supreme Court updating the state’s water law a significant victory because the ruling paves the way for the state to restrict groundwater ...
Energy secretary talks electric vehicles at Las Vegas auto convention: Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024; The federal government is promoting electric vehicles with incentives, and wants EVs to account for half of new vehicle sales by 2030, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said recently at the National Automotive Dealers Association show in Las Vegas. The United States, however, only ...
Federal agency releases Topock Marsh project info: Monday, Feb. 5, 2024; Temporary pumps will supply an important wetland habitat between Arizona and California with 5,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water while the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation builds an $8 million pumping station to keep the water level consistent for the long haul, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said ...
Radon testing program comes with advantages, drawbacks for homeowners and buyers: Monday, Jan. 22, 2024; A program to make people aware of the dangers of potentially cancer-causing radon gas in homes enlists real estate agents to distribute testing kits to their clients. But getting those clients ...
Future low dam’s aim is to prevent erosion in Las Vegas Wash: Monday, Jan. 15, 2024; Engineers are taking samples of the Las Vegas Wash’s sandy banks as they prepare for construction of a low dam to prevent erosion caused by water flowing to Lake Mead. The data they gather will support design of a weir ...
New Nevada state park opens this month, showcasing 25,000-year-old fossils: Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024; Some 25,000 years ago, the area near the modern-day 8660 N. Decatur Blvd. was home to a spring and marshland. It sustained Columbian mammoths, camelops (or yesterday’s camels), dire wolves, lions, and ...
Volunteers help NASA stay one step ahead of the weather: Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023; Scientists rely on an array of multimillion-dollar weather satellites to determine when and where rain turns into snow in the Nevada mountains. But there’s a fine line between snow and rain at high elevations, one that humans like Paul Eykamp, who lives in the ...
Program offers loans to make Nevada homes more energy efficient: Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023; A new loan program for Nevada homeowners seeking to make energy-efficient improvements will have a limited reach. But Nevada Clean Energy Fund officials plan to use what’s available to win ...
Officials commit to deals to conserve Colorado River water: Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023; California water districts and Bureau of Reclamation officials today commemorated a series of 21 water conservation agreements that will save 1.6 million acre feet of Colorado River water through 2026 ...
Republic Services Polymer Center opens in North Las Vegas: Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023; The first Republic Services Polymer Center will clean, sort and process collected plastics from eight western states and sell them back to manufacturers looking for readily available recyclable materials.
As electric vehicles help improve Nevada’s air quality, major hurdles still remain: Monday, Dec. 4, 2023; Electric cars are making a dent in Las Vegas’ air pollution, but charging infrastructure is still limited and drivers statewide aren’t adopting the technology fast enough to reach emissions goals.
Take Will Gibbs, an Uber driver who swears by his electric 2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line and ...
Southern Nevada groups won't join lawsuit over PFAS forever chemicals: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023; The Boulder City Council on Tuesday voted to stay out of class action lawsuits against two companies accused of contaminating water with cancer-causing chemicals ...
Nevada's strategy to conserve water may be used by Utah nonprofit to save the Great Salt Lake: Monday, Nov. 27, 2023; A Utah nonprofit group is proposing legal protections and water conservation measures like Nevada’s to save the rapidly drying Great Salt Lake. The United States ...
NV Energy to get $2 million from US for energy grid upgrades: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023; The U.S. Department of Energy plans to give $2 million in research funding to NV Energy, the electric utility with 1.5 million customers throughout the state, as part of an effort to modernize and strengthen the energy grid nationwide.
Challenges are plentiful as plans to increase Las Vegas’ urban forest take root: Friday, Nov. 10, 2023; In Nevada, millions of dollars are being spent to plant trees to help cool the concrete jungle, provide shade and help clean the air. The question is, can the trees survive? Lisa Ortega ...
$61 million projects to rein in Las Vegas Wash erosion planned to begin in 2024: Friday, Nov. 3, 2023; The Southern Nevada Water Authority plans to build $61 million of aquatic “speed bumps” to slow the flow of water down the Las Vegas Wash, the first of five planned projects to help prevent erosion ...
New federal plan aims to ensure Colorado River’s sustainability through 2026: Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023; A record-breaking winter snowpack this year and the Lower Colorado River Basin states’ recent agreement to cut water use should be enough to protect Lake Mead and Lake Powell from dropping to dangerously low levels for the next three years ...
Despite a wet El Niño forecast for Southern Nevada, Lake Mead unlikely to see water level rise: Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023; The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting higher-than-usual rainfall for parts of Nevada, California and Arizona this winter, but that rainfall isn’t expected to translate to ...
Nevada environmental groups get $18M boost in federal funding: Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023; Environmental nonprofits, tree experts and planting volunteers gathered Friday to celebrate $18 million in federal funding for urban forestry initiatives aimed at protecting neighborhoods hit hardest by climate change.
NV Energy prepares for power shift during eclipse visible in Nevada: Friday, Oct. 13, 2023; NV Energy’s solar production will be quashed for about three hours Saturday as the moon blocks between 80% and 90% of the sun’s rays throughout Nevada during ...
Community in North Las Vegas looking for answers on unspent relocation funding: Residents of Windsor Park awaiting outcome of new Nevada relocation effort; Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023; Windsor Park residents are seeking answers from the City of North Las Vegas about how the remaining funds intended to help them relocate from their deteriorating neighborhood 25 years ago have been managed.
Southern Nevada Water Authority receives $29 million for conservation in grants: Monday, Oct. 2, 2023; The Southern Nevada Water Authority will bolster its new septic system conversion program and ramp up its grass replacement efforts with two state grants totaling $29 million.
Water authority moves to conserve on cooling systems in Southern Nevada: High-consumption evaporative systems banned in new commercial buildings amid drought; Monday, Sept. 25, 2023; The Southern Nevada Water Authority has banned evaporative cooling in new commercial buildings because the systems are one of largest consumers of water in Clark County. The ban went into effect this month but does not apply ...
UNLV planting 3,000 trees to blunt impact of urban heat islands: Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023; UNLV plans to plant about 3,000 trees in Southern Nevada over the next five years with a $5 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The funding is part of a $1 billion urban forestry program to ,,,
Las Vegas factory aiming to make solar panels more efficient: Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023; The Unimacts facility on West Tompkins Avenue in Las Vegas produces metal poles that can support four to six solar panels each, depending on their size. The tracking poles ...
Nevada conservation project gets $2.5 million to protect game animals: Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023; The Bureau of Land Management today announced several new conservation projects across the West, including one designed to protect game animals in Nevada.
Las Vegas manufacturer fighting climate change one chopstick at a time: Local workshop give used utensils new purposes; Monday, Sept. 4, 2023; Trays filled with hundreds of used chopsticks sway from side to side, the wooden utensils rhythmically clacking together as a special machine separates them from stray bits of food and sorts them into neat piles ...
SNWA, partners develop tool to rank incoming businesses’ water consumption against benefits to the community: Friday, Sept. 1, 2023; It’s part of ongoing conservation efforts by water officials in Nevada, who have been lauded for water-saving measures in response to a two-decade drought that is leaving less water flowing ...
Flood District says Las Vegas ready for heavy rain: Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023; Tropical storm Hilary’s impact on Southern Nevada was minimal, but Clark County’s stormwater system has the capacity for the kind of rain the storm could have brought, according to the ...
RTC rolls out Southern Nevada’s 1st hydrogen-powered buses: Friday, Aug. 18, 2023; Regional Transportation Commission CEO M.J. Maynard said the vehicles were the first of 16 the commission plans to purchase by 2025 with the help of $18 million in federal funding ...