Skinwalker Ranch — Robert Bigelow and the National Institute for Discovery Science
Skinwalker Ranch — Robert Bigelow and the National Institute for Discovery Science
[edit | edit source]Robert Bigelow: Profile
[edit | edit source]| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Thomas Bigelow |
| Born | May 12, 1944; Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Companies | Budget Suites of America; Bigelow Aerospace; NIDS; BAASS |
| UFO interest | Lifelong; family background: grandparents witnessed a close-encounter event |
| Bigelow Aerospace | Expandable space habitat technology; NASA BEAM module on ISS |
| Ranch purchase | 1996; $200,000; motivated by the Deseret News articles |
| NIDS established | 1995; specifically to study UFOs and related phenomena scientifically |
| BAASS/Government contract | DIA contract HHM402-08-C-0072 to BAASS; ~$22 million; c.2008–2012 |
| Harry Reid relationship | Long personal friendship; Reid sponsored Senate funding support |
| Ranch sold | 2016; ~$4.5 million to Adamantium Real Estate (Fugal) |
Why Bigelow Bought the Ranch
[edit | edit source]Bigelow read the June 1996 George Knapp articles about the Sherman family within days of publication. Within three months he had purchased the property. His motivation was explicitly scientific: he believed the concentration of reported phenomena represented a genuine research opportunity that his resources could exploit. He denied acting in coordination with government agencies at the time of purchase, specifically refuting claims he was "in cahoots with the CIA."
The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS)
[edit | edit source]Established by Bigelow in 1995 — the year before the ranch purchase — specifically to investigate UFOs and paranormal phenomena with scientific rigor. Key features:
- PhD-level scientists and field researchers from multiple disciplines
- Colm Kelleher as lead field investigator
- 24-hour observation posts staffed by trained personnel
- Sophisticated monitoring equipment throughout the property
- Systematic documentation protocols
- Investigation period: approximately 1996–2004
The NIDS Paradox
[edit | edit source]NIDS's investigation produced the central paradox of the Skinwalker Ranch scientific record: phenomena were observed and documented by trained scientific personnel, but no conclusive physical evidence was obtained. Kelleher stated: "After several years of [Sherman] family trauma and of focused NIDS investigation, we managed to obtain very little physical evidence of anomalous phenomena, at least no physical evidence that could be considered as conclusive proof of anything."
This outcome — after years of systematic monitoring with sophisticated equipment by credentialed scientists — is the most important single fact about the ranch's investigation history.
James Randi's Pigasus Award (1996)
[edit | edit source]Skeptic James Randi awarded Bigelow a tongue-in-cheek Pigasus Award in 1996 as "the funding organization that supported the most useless study of a supernatural, paranormal or occult claim" — specifically for the ranch purchase and for supporting John E. Mack's and Budd Hopkins' investigations. The award reflects the mainstream scientific community's assessment at the time.
