Thousands lived downwind of the tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site, including a cohort of ranchers raising sheep and cattle. Read the newspaper articles below. What effect did atomic testing have on these animals? How might atomic testing have affected other portions of the natural environment?
The individuals whose oral histories are below both dealt with animals affected by atomic testing, but did so in different ways. Gracian Uhalde, a Basque rancher, was born in 1952 and grew up on a ranch located near the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, just north of the Nevada Test Site. Lafe Dana and Ken Giles's experiences were a bit different; both worked with dairy cattle on the Environmental Protection Agency's experimental farm at the NTS. In his fifteen years there, they collected milk samples from dairy cows and beef cows. Each of these men offer different perspectives about the Test Site's affect on livestock and the environment.
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