Alva Review-Courier -

BEATTY, Nev. (AP) — Environmentalists are taking over a faded Nevada mining town, but many locals don't seem to mind.

The Nature Conservancy has become the largest private landowner in the Nye County community of Beatty, where the national organization and its neighbors are working to create a preserve for sensitive desert wildlife and a destination for outdoor enthusiasts a nearly two-hour drive from Las Vegas.

The conservancy's latest acquisition is a 900-acre (364-hectare) working cattle ranch at the headwaters of the Amargosa River that could one day become a living laboratory for conserva...