Leia Larsen

Investigative Fellow at The New York Times

Local Investigations fellow for @nytimes. Water+land use for @sltrib. Named after a Star Wars character, but it's LEE-uh.

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Articles

In a Growing Utah City, Residents Are Turning Against Their Mayor

Dec 12, 2024 | nytimes.com | Leia Larsen |Kim Raff

"She said, 'My office is full of liberals,'" Mrs. Price recalled. "'I don't trust anybody.'"Mrs. Price helped with the mayor's 2021 campaign. When residents complained on social media about restaurants and businesses not keeping pace with Vineyard's rapid growth, the mayor wrote a 972-word reply and asked Mrs. Price to post it using her own account, text messages show. Mrs. Price also won a raffle at an event hosted by Ms. Fullmer encouraging women to seek office.
Man vs. Trees: How a Rancher’s Bulldozing Project Cost Utah Taxpayers

Sep 17, 2024 | rsn.org | Leia Larsen

The state footed a big bill for the owner of a hunting retreat to knock down trees on his and nearby properties. He made big environmental promises, but the science was lacking. Mike Siaperas, a wealthy software executive, was looking for a change. He found it 10,000 feet above sea level in Utah, buying a ranch that he would turn into a luxury hunting retreat. But there was a problem.
Man vs. Trees: How a Rancher’s Bulldozing Project Cost Utah Taxpayers

Sep 14, 2024 | yahoo.com | Leia Larsen

CARBON COUNTY, Utah — Mike Siaperas, a wealthy software executive, was looking for a change. He found it 10,000 feet above sea level in Utah, buying a ranch that he would turn into a luxury hunting retreat. But there was a problem. “You couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you, the trees were so overgrown,” he recalled in an interview for a podcast in 2021. “I wanted to see wildlife.”So he bulldozed swaths of forest on his property and an adjacent state reserve.
Man vs. Trees: How a Rancher’s Bulldozing Project Cost Utah Taxpayers

Sep 10, 2024 | treefrogcreative.ca | Leia Larsen |Robert McKellar |David Elstone |Derek Nighbor

Man vs. Trees: How a Rancher’s Bulldozing Project Cost Utah Taxpayers By Leia Larsen The New York Times September 10, 2024 Category: Business & Politics Region: United States, US West Mike Siaperas, a wealthy software executive, was looking for a change.
How a Rancher's Bulldozing Project Cost Utah Taxpayers

Sep 10, 2024 | nytimes.com | Leia Larsen

Mike Siaperas, a wealthy software executive, was looking for a change. He found it 10,000 feet above sea level in Utah, buying a ranch that he would turn into a luxury hunting retreat. But there was a problem. "You couldn't see 10 feet in front of you, the trees were so overgrown," he recalled in an interview for a podcast in 2021. "I wanted to see wildlife."So he bulldozed swaths of forest on his property and an adjacent state reserve.
How a tiny bird could trigger a federal response on Great Salt Lake

Apr 9, 2024 | globeslcc.com | Leia Larsen

The Great Salt Lake Collaborative is a group of news, education and media organizations – including The Globe and student journalists at Salt Lake Community College – that have come together to better inform and engage the public about the crisis facing Great Salt Lake. The following story was originally published by The Salt Lake Tribune, a collaborative partner. Hundreds of migrating bird species depend on the imperiled Great Salt Lake for survival each year.
How a tiny bird could trigger a federal response on Great Salt Lake

Mar 29, 2024 | standard.net | Leia Larsen

Here’s why the Wilson’s phalarope is making waves. By Leia Larsen - The Salt Lake Tribune | Mar 29, 2024 1 / 6Great Salt Lake advocate and activist author Terry Tempest Williams, center, joins environmental groups, scientists and community members on the steps of the Utah Capitol to petition for a threatened species listing of Wilson's phalarope on Thursday, March 28, 2024, and by extension the health of the Great Salt Lake.
Utah's 2024 snowpack is above average! (And who figures that out.)

Mar 18, 2024 | sltrib.com | Leia Larsen

Editor's note * The following is an excerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune's new Open Lands newsletter, a twice-a-month newsletter about Utah's land, water and air from the environment team. For a sneak peek at what we're working on and news we're following, sign up to have Open Lands delivered to your inbox. Statewide, Utah's snowpack is looking quite good. Not 2023 levels of good - that's a snowpack we'll likely never see again in our lifetimes.
Great Salt Lake might jump 1.2 feet this spring

Mar 14, 2024 | sltrib.com | Leia Larsen

Editor's note * The following is an excerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune's new Open Lands newsletter, a twice-a-month newsletter about Utah's land, water and air from the environment team. For a sneak peek at what we're working on and news we're following, sign up to have Open Lands delivered to your inbox. The Utah Snow Survey reports around 870,000 acre-feet will probably flow to the Great Salt Lake between April and July. That amount of water should raise the lake's elevation by about 1.2 feet.
Most of the West's water problems are due to what we eat. Here's why.

Mar 13, 2024 | sltrib.com | Leia Larsen

You may have seen The New York Times graphic that succinctly shows where all the Colorado River's water goes (spoiler: it's mostly used to grow food for cows). The researcher behind it, Brian Richter, has spent decades raising awareness about global water scarcity, formerly for The Nature Conservancy and currently as president of Sustainable Waters.