Bigelow buys Skinwalker Ranch; NIDS investigation begins
Also: Sherman ranch
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The visual record
Illustrations, recordings and archival references — each with its own provenance. A documented source is a starting point for investigation, not a verdict on its explanation.
Skinwalker Ranch entrance (2013)
The ranch gate in the Uinta Basin, Utah, bought by Robert Bigelow's NIDS in 1996 for round-the-clock observation. Location photograph · context — none of the reported phenomena is shown.
Paul from USA · 2013 ↗CC BY-SA 2.0Licence terms ↗Eric Davis · 0:05:50
Open the source at the cited time. The episode thumbnail is video packaging, not a photograph of the reported subject.
American Alchemy / Jesse Michels ↗YouTube-hosted preview and player; not relicensedBrandon Fugal · 0:20:15
Open the source at the cited time. The episode thumbnail is video packaging, not a photograph of the reported subject.
American Alchemy / Jesse Michels ↗YouTube-hosted preview and player; not relicensedAmerican Alchemy · 0:15:17
Open the source at the cited time. The episode thumbnail is video packaging, not a photograph of the reported subject.
American Alchemy / Jesse Michels ↗YouTube-hosted preview and player; not relicensedIn 1996, after the Sherman family reported cattle mutilations, lights and large animals on their Uintah Basin ranch, Robert Bigelow bought the property and installed a National Institute for Discovery Science team that reported anomalies over several years. Corpus guests include NIDS staff hired that summer and the current owner, who describes continuing effects on his team.
Read the full account
What was reported. The Shermans described orbs, a large wolf unharmed by rifle fire, mutilated cattle and a lit doorway in the air. After Bigelow's purchase in 1996, NIDS scientists lived on the ranch and recorded events they could not explain, including a reported "tunnel" from which a creature emerged. (FACT about the testimony.)
What followed. NIDS closed in 2004; Bigelow's AAWSAP contract from the DIA in 2008 brought the ranch into the lineage of AATIP. Brandon Fugal bought the ranch in 2016 and it became a television series. (FACT.)
What the corpus adds. Eric Davis dates his NIDS hiring to July 1996 alongside Colm Kelleher and George Onet. Fugal says his ranch manager has been with him since April 2016 and that effects follow staff home. Another episode describes an object entering the east field below a helicopter. A skeptic-leaning guest notes the risk of circular reporting among people who did NIDS and Bigelow work. (FACT about testimony.)
Explanations offered. Ordinary ranch hazards amplified by expectation, hoaxing, a genuine unexplained locus, or an interdimensional portal; the corpus voices all four. (INFERENCE / SPECULATION.)
The event
| Date | (year) |
|---|---|
| Place | Skinwalker Ranch · United States |
| Official response | The Defense Intelligence Agency funded research at the ranch through the AAWSAP contract from 2008 to 2010; no government body has published a finding on the ranch. |
Reported by
- terry sherman witness ranch owner 1994–1996
- George Knapp journalist first reported the ranch in 1996
Investigated by
- nids researcher
- Robert Bigelow researcher
- Eric Davis scientist
- aawsap government
Who spoke about it later
- Eric Davis 0:05:50 Eric Weinstein Confronts Government Scientist on UFOs | MEMBERS RELEASE ▶
- Brandon Fugal 0:20:15 Skinwalker Ranch Owner Reveals “Time Portal” On the Property ▶
- anonymous guest 0:15:17 Jeremy Corbell: “He Reverse Engineered UFOs and Died Before Going Public!” |… ▶
- anonymous guest 1:27:49 Why The Pentagon Tried To Censor This UFO Book ▶ 2026
Mentioned in the corpus
Passages this record cites, with the stamp of the block each quote sits in.
Eric Weinstein Confronts Government Scientist on UFOs | MEMBERS RELEASE 7 March 2026
- 0:05:50 ▶ Eric Davis
national institute for discovery science that Bob Bigalow founded in 1995 and um uh I was hired in July of 96 along with Colum Keller and George Onette and uh John Alexander was
- 0:05:50 ▶ interview
- 0:05:50 ▶ Eric Davis
Skinwalker Ranch Owner Reveals “Time Portal” On the Property 25 July 2026
- 0:20:15 ▶ Brandon Fugal
since April of 2016. Shortly after I bought the ranch, I engaged him. Thomas has had things happen in his home upon returning from Skinwalker Ranch. I mean,
- 0:20:15 ▶ interview
- 0:20:15 ▶ Brandon Fugal
Jeremy Corbell: “He Reverse Engineered UFOs and Died Before Going Public!” | EARLY RELEASE 6 June 2026
Why The Pentagon Tried To Censor This UFO Book 21 May 2026
On the map
Bigelow buys Skinwalker Ranch; NIDS investigation begins, New York Times reveals AATIP and releases Navy videos, Skinwalker Ranch surveillance and television footage. Open the full map filtered to this record.
Sources on this record
- 0:05:50 Eric Weinstein Confronts Government Scientist on UFOs | MEMBERS RELEASE · Eric Davis ▶
national institute for discovery science that Bob Bigalow founded in 1995 and um uh I was hired in July of 96 along with Colum Keller and George Onette and uh John Alexander was
- 0:20:15 Skinwalker Ranch Owner Reveals “Time Portal” On the Property · Brandon Fugal ▶
since April of 2016. Shortly after I bought the ranch, I engaged him. Thomas has had things happen in his home upon returning from Skinwalker Ranch. I mean,
- 0:15:17 Jeremy Corbell: “He Reverse Engineered UFOs and Died Before Going Public!” |… ▶
Are you just talking to the people who did NIDs and Bigelow and all this sort of, you know, external assets >> they
- 1:27:49 Why The Pentagon Tried To Censor This UFO Book ▶
entered the east field portion of the ranch below a helicopter, and then exited from a mesa. >> Does it look like it comes from
- Skinwalker Ranch