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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The state's historic drought has been bad for farmers but good for gold seekers, who can now pan areas that have long been buried under feet of water. -
Gray wolves are a controversial and polarizing animal in much of the American West. Wolves have slowly come back from extinction, forcing people to learn how to coexist with the cunning predator. One farmer is teaching his cattle to huddle together as bison do when threatened — there is safety in numbers.
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In California, agriculture is a $44.7 billion industry and the ongoing drought has many farmers worried. Some already have cut back on planting crops and some banks are withholding loans.
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The U.S. Forest Service has proposed a large salvage logging operation in the area affected by last year's historic Rim Fire, which burned 410-square miles of California's Sierra Nevada. The proposal is meeting stiff opposition from environmental groups who say the land is better left untouched.
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Pope Francis has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year. But what do American Catholics make of their widely-praised new pope? Most people like how he accepts everybody that wants to be part of the church.
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Peter O'Toole, the Hollywood legend who was made famous in his title role in Lawrence of Arabia, died on Saturday in a London hospital. The 81-year old Irishman was nominated for eight Oscars in his distinguished career, and was known as a bit of a hellraiser. -
Frigid weather and freezing rain have beset large swaths of the country. Those below-average temperatures are expected to stay well into the week.
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The company sold nearly 260 of Boeing's new 777 aircraft. It was touted by Boeing as the largest combined order for a new aircraft in the company's history.
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The search and rescue effort in Colorado is slowing down. While many are still listed as missing, officials are scaling back on the effort to find those trapped in areas severely affected by recent flooding. They say most people who wanted to get out have been able to do so.
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As Congress prepares to take a vote on whether to launch a military strike against Syria, opinions vary widely among voters. We'll get a sampling of opinions from Fort Campbell, Ky., Los Angeles and State College, Pa.
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David Frost was probably best known in the United States for his interviews with former President Richard Nixon in 1977 after Nixon had resigned from office. The interview was taped over the course of four weeks, two hours at a time. Frost died of a suspected heart attack.
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In California, there are more than 4,500 firefighters battling the wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park. The Rim Fire is more than 300 square miles in size. Crews have been making progress by doing controlled burns of things like brush that would feed a bigger blaze.
