The Hills Have Allies
Just west of Austin, preservationists fight to hold onto an ecological rarity as a Dallas billionaire's development looms.
Asher Elbein
Asher Elbein is a freelance journalist and fiction writer based in Austin.
Articles by Asher Elbein
The Texotics
As Texas landowners breed exotic animals like kudu and nilgai, they’re running a massive unplanned and unregulated natural experiment.
The Ghosts of Jefferson
This East Texas tourist town calls itself “the most haunted town in Texas,” but its whitewashed ghost stories elide a complex racial history.
Invasive Species Have Reshaped Texas. Now What?
From parakeets to fire ants, nilgai to tamarisk trees, invasives have integrated into the state's ecosystems — and managing them means asking hard questions.
Rats From a Sinking Ship
A new documentary chronicling a rodent’s invasion of the Gulf Coast is part quirky tale, part sobering climate change parable.
The Lone Star State Teems with Snakes, Lizards and Toads in ‘Herping Texas’
Michael Smith and Clint King's entertaining and rambling book recounts years of cold-blooded adventuring.
In Texas, One of the World’s Oldest, Weirdest Fish Finally Gets Its Due
Long considered “trash fish,” alligator gar have patrolled Texas rivers for millions of years. Now this living fossil may finally be getting its due.
‘The Natural History of Texas’ Celebrates the State’s Lesser-Known Critters and In-Between Places
At first glance, the book appears to be a textbook. But it soon transforms into a welcome collection of oddities, a bestiary of the strange, unexpected and overlooked.
A New Book on Jellyfish is Filled with Wonder and Climate Change Woes
Berwald pops between scientific conferences and labs, fishes for giant jellyfish off the coast of Japan and dives with a swarm in Israel.
Field Notes from Santa Ana
A visit to the crown jewel of the national wildlife refuge system, now under threat from Trump's wall, reveals a harsh landscape teeming with life.