Scott
Hinton

Tension

The expansive landscapes of the American West satiate those with a biophilic need to reconnect with nature. Yet, the human-wildland interface is a land of considerable conflict. Development has reconfigured once notable gateways and vistas, or neighbor major extractive industry. Though small islands of wilderness preserve the simulation of a land before colonial conquest it comes with costly-management.

"Ranchurbia" was once an exclusive resort town phenomenon, the now widespread conversion of ranchland into smaller five-acre parcels has patterned a new landscape of rurality typified by a wave of inhabitants demanding higher urban-quality services. Images create a narrative that visualizes this trend now observable across the American West. Spring Creek (eastern Nevada) exemplifies the case of unregulated sprawl now framing a once pastoral portal to Elko County's scenic Ruby Mountains. Documented through striking, visually complex landscape photographs this narrative reveals a historic shift in land use at the Lamoille Canyon site; a place blessed and cursed by aridity.