Fly Ranch is in the middle of nowhere, and yet it's the center of the universe for many bugs, birds, animals, and, uh, thermophiles. 

Down the road from the dry lake bed that hosts Black Rock City, Fly Ranch is 6 square miles of hot springs, ecosystems, and a unique variety of life, from wildflowers to wild horses, antelope and mountain lions, eagles, and cicadas.

Stuart and Logan talk with Dr. Lisa Beers (aka Scirpus) about her work as the Burning Man Land Fellow for Fly Ranch, and all the life, death and artifacts on the 600 acres of the Fly Ranch.

Dr Scirpus explores the flora, fauna, and everything else she finds at "Fly." When not smelling the sagebrush, she manages the Environmental Compliance team for the Burning Man event, and studies wetland ecology throughout the world.

In this charming conversation, Scirpus reminds us that fairy shrimp are real, and scorpions are real, and she lets Stuart believe that jackalopes are real, but not squirrelopes. Logan's not buying it either. Platypuses, though? If you’ve never met one, how can you really know?

And you haven’t tasted mezcal until you’ve had a botanist tell you how bats pollinate the cactus.

flyranch.org/

https://www.instagram.com/fly_ranch/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/flyranch

https://medium.com/beyond-burning-man/writers-emerging-at-fly-ranch-reflection-3da8da91d3e

https://medium.com/beyond-burning-man/burning-man-project-2020-environmental-sustainability-report-df757260c9c5

https://lagi2020flyranch.org/

https://journal.burningman.org/author/scirpus/

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG