With Guest Will Falk

THACKER PASS pictured above is a low area with a sagebrush ecosystem connecting the Quinn River Valley and Kings River Valley. This region is an important winter habitat for mule deer. The Montana Mountains to the north are home to sage grouse breeding grounds and golden eagles. The area is rich with Paiute history that spans thousands of years of sustainable occupation, something our western society is failing to achieve. The lithium deposit results from ancient volcanic activity, which also produced significant amounts of obsidian which served as an important stone tool material. Will Falk, gives an update on Thacker Pass in northern Nevada. In January 2021, Will and Max Wilbert launched an occupation of a proposed lithium mine at Thacker Pass. Will is a writer, lawyer, and environmental activist. He believes the ongoing destruction of the natural world is the most pressing issue confronting us today. Activism has taken Will to the Unist’ot’en Camp — an Indigenous cultural center and pipeline blockade on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in so-called British Columbia, Canada, to a construction blockade on Mauna Kea in Hawai’i, and endangered pinyon-juniper forests in the Great Basin. “How Dams Fall: Stories the Colorado River Told Me,” Will's first book was published in August 2019 by Homebound Publications. For more information, visit https://www.protectthackerpass.org/. Will publishes his poetry on his Facebook page. More information about Will can be found at https://willfalk.org/.