October 1995 NIDS formation; September 1996 ranch purchase / T185
NIDS is established and Bigelow acquires Skinwalker Ranch
Las Vegas, Nevada; Sherman/Skinwalker Ranch, Uintah Basin, Utah
Witness account
Robert Bigelow formed the privately funded National Institute for Discovery Science in October 1995. After publicity about the Sherman family’s reported experiences on a Utah ranch, he purchased the property in September 1996. It later became widely known as Skinwalker Ranch. NIDS began staffing the site and monitoring alleged anomalous activity.
Public record
A 20 October 1996 Deseret News report supplies both months, describes the observation building and resident personnel, and quotes John Alexander about the institute’s research aims. This contemporary reporting supports the institutional and property chronology; it is not a laboratory validation of the family’s claims about lights, animal losses or apparent doorways.