Nathan Rott
Nathan Rott is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where he focuses on environment issues and the American West.
Based at NPR West in Culver City, California, Rott spends a lot of his time on the road, covering everything from breaking news stories like California's wildfires to in-depth issues like the management of endangered species and many points between.
Rott owes his start at NPR to two extraordinary young men he never met. As the first recipient of the Stone and Holt Weeks Fellowship in 2010, he aims to honor the memory of the two brothers by carrying on their legacy of making the world a better place.
A graduate of the University of Montana, Rott prefers to be outside at just about every hour of the day. Prior to working at NPR, he worked a variety of jobs including wildland firefighting, commercial fishing, children's theater teaching, and professional snow-shoveling for the United States Antarctic Program. Odds are, he's shoveled more snow than you.
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One of the goals of controversial wolf hunts in the Western U.S. is to help reduce the burden on ranchers, who lose livestock to wolves every year. A new study finds that those hunts have had a measurable, but small effect on livestock depredations. -
Researchers say recently discovered teeth come from a previously undiscovered species of Australopithecus, adding to our understanding of human evolution.
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Why are some songbirds so brightly colored? A new study finds that a hidden layer of black and white feathers help their colors pop.
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A new study finds that dogs' television-watching habits may depend on their personality.
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How do scientists monitor the populations of the threatened California red-legged frog? With careful listening and a little help from AI. -
If you were a miner in California during the Gold Rush, you might have dined on a California red-legged frog. The largest native frog in the western United States, this Golden State denizen used to be found as far inland as the Sierra Nevada mountains and south, into Baja California. But today, they're listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Conservationists have worked to translocate new populations of the red-legged frog back to California in hopes that their numbers can be restored. But how do they monitor those populations' growth? Enter AI. Want to hear more stories about critters or conservation? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. -
Years ago, scientists moved eggs of a federally threatened frog from Mexico to Southern California. Audio monitoring -- with an AI assist -- now shows the complicated conservation effort is working.
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Monarch butterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. In early December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is going to decide whether the monarch should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. If that comes to pass, the migratory butterfly would be one of the most widespread species to receive this listing. Want to hear more on the animals that surround us? Email us your ideas to shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. -
The monarch butterfly is widely recognized and widely dispersed across North America and it's in trouble. Federal officials decide soon whether it gets protection under the Endangered Species Act. -
On a rare undeveloped point of the California coast, scientists are trying to repopulate shorelines with an endangered marine snail. This type of experimental conservation is becoming more necessary.
