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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Seawalls are great at protecting property and people. A new nature-inspired seawall add-on is trying to make them better at protecting marine wildlife too. -
There are roughly 2.5 million known species on the planet, but scientists estimate that's only a fraction of the biodiversity on Earth. A new study shows we're finding new species like never before.
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Archaeologists in Britain say they've found the earliest evidence of humans making fires anywhere in the world. The discovery moves our understanding of when humans started making fire back by 350,000 years. -
A new study finds that about half of the physical variation seen in modern dogs existed during the Stone Age. -
Scientists have long known that plastic waste is bad for marine animals. A new study quantifies how little ingested plastic it takes to be a lethal dose. -
The avian flu is devastating marine mammal populations. A new survey finds that nearly half of breeding females in the world's largest population of southern elephant seals were killed by the virus.
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California wildlife officials have been working to mitigate the impact of the state's rebounding wolf population on its ranchers. The Northern California wolves that were euthanized had become dependent on cattle for food.
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Scientists have known for decades that many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. It's less clear how they do it. A new study suggests earthworms may be a good way to figure it out. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on October 15, 2025.)
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Scientists have known for decades that many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. It's less clear how they do it. A new study suggests earthworms may be a good way to figure it out. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on October 15, 2025.)
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Scientists are researching ways to genetically modify plants and animals to be more resistant to threats like climate change. The IUCN is voting on whether those species should be allowed in nature.
