FRIENDS OF WILDERNESS K JULY 2004 eeping Nevada Wild Since 1984 What’s proposed for wilderness?

ByLincoln Shaaron NethertonCounty Conservation, Recreation and Development Act The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation tact wild landscapes. The bill also includes several and Development Act of 2004 (S2532/HR4593) citizen-proposed areas, including the stunning Big would designate 14 new wilderness areas, totaling Rocks Wilderness and Mt. Irish Wilderness with its 769,611 acres as wilderness, and re- rich archeological resources. These citizen lease 245,516 acres from wilderness areas were missed by the BLM during study area consideration. Wilderness their inventory and never became wilder- management and release provisions “Many areas ness study areas. set no new precedent for wilderness would receive Many areas would receive permanent in the United States. These provi- permanent wilderness protection in this bill. The lofty sions are the same as those used for wilderness limestone cliffs of the Far South Egans and BLM wilderness areas in the Clark protection.” Worthington Mountains hold important un- County Conservation of Public Lands derground wilderness values with their and Natural Resources Act of 2002. fragile cave resources, along with their There is also no “hard release” language in this bill, rugged outer beauty. The rainbow of colorful volca- which means all areas released as wilderness study nic tuff formations would be protected in the Fortifi- areas could be considered for wilderness again in cation Range. Wildlife habitat galore would be pro- the future. tected with the many springs and seeps of the Although it falls short of our expectations, this White Rock Range. Bristlecone pines cling to the bill would designate more Wilderness than any other tops of the Worthington Mountains, and large Pon- SPECIAL single bill has designated in Nevada. Our Citizens’ derosa Pine forests are found in the Weepah Spring proposal includes 2.5 million acres of wild lands area and Clover Mountains. Parsnip Peak cradles EDITION mostly in Lincoln County. A large chunk of that large stands of quaking aspen. proposal is land in the Desert National Game Throughout these areas, many wildlife species EASTERN Range. These US Fish and Wildlife-managed wild depend on the solitude, freedom and habitat that wil- lands are not included in this bill, but they will re- derness protects, from the desert tortoise to elk, NEVADA main protected as proposed wilderness until we are deer, bighorn, goshawks and golden eagles. PUBLIC able to get them designated in future legislation. Of special note are the “Big Four,” the Mormon, Report from the front lines Page 2 LANDS Meadow Valley, Delamar and Clover Mountains. Hold the anchovies! Page 3 BILL IS Three of these new wilderness areas would be- Lincoln County map Page 4 come the second, third and fifth-biggest wilderness Congressional comments on bill Page 5 INTRODUCED areas in the state (the is the A long road travelled Page 6

largest; Arc Dome would become fourth). These Inside: How you can improve the new bill Page 7 four areas total about 476,000 acres. The “Big Explaining the bill step by step Page 8 Four” and the nearby Desert National Wildlife Groundwater issues in Nevada Page 10 Range comprise an extensive block of relatively in- Water in the Valley Page 11 1 d From the front lines

Timing is everything. For almost We have always believed the way four years, the board and staff of to accomplish wilderness protection is Board of Directors Friends of Nevada Wilderness have to work with all the stakeholders — been working hard to protect eastern the local and federal governments, No. HenryNevada Egghart Members Nevada’s wild places. We’ve reported land owners, miners, ranchers, hunt- Corey Lewis to you on our progress and highlight- ers and fishermen, mountain bikers, Ron Hunter ed some of these fabulous areas. OHV enthusiasts, Roger Scholl Almost the day you etc. These incredi- Marge Sill received your June ble lands belong newsletter in your to all of us. I firmly mailbox, our Congres- believe that the RuralKaren Nev adaBoeger Members sional delegation si- more polarized our Peter Bradley multaneously intro- country becomes, duced in the House and the more po- and Senate the Lin- larized our issues So. NeTheovada Byrns Members coln County Conserva- become, the hard- Geoff Frasz tion, Recreation and er it will be to find Hermi Hiatt Development Act of workable solutions John Hiatt 2004. Because protecting eastern on the ground, where solutions matter Macaire Moran Nevada is so important and every one most. We must learn to work together, Bart Patterson of you has helped in many ways, we trust each other and focus on the val- wanted to get a special edition of the ues that we share. Staff newsletter out to you, our members, This issue of the newsletter is as soon as possible. meant to inform you of the facts and Executive Director For me, the legislation is bitter- let you come to your own conclusions Shaaron Netherton sweet. I lived in Ely for over eight on how you feel about this bill. Contact Ely years and know and love many of information for the entire Nevada Con- Pam White these places. Yes, the bill proposes gressional delegation is included. I Las Vegas to protect some magnificent wild hope you will share your opinions with Susan Potts places, but it’s fewer than I had the delegation on how to improve this Reno hoped, and far less than our 2.5-mil- complex legislation. In this newsletter, Brian Beffort lion-acre Citizens’ Wilderness Pro- we offer some suggestions for improv- Pete Dronkers posal for Lincoln County. There are ing the Wilderness title as well as oth- Pat Patera key areas missing in the legislation, er titles. such as the Pahranagat Range, part For more information, refer to our NorthernPO BoxNe v9754ada Office of the Mt. Irish area, Dutch John website at Reno, NV 89507 Mountain and the vast wild areas in www.nevadawilderness.org (775) 324-7667 the Desert National Wildlife Range managed by the U.S. Fish and Wild- For the Wild! Sout1700hern E. Desert Nevada Inn #406Office life Service. Lower slopes of many Las Vegas, NV 89109 wilderness study areas have also (702) 650-6542 been left out. There are also titles in the bill, Shaaron Netherton www.nevadawilderness.orgWebsite such as the water pipeline corridors Executive Director and rights-of-way, that Friends of Ne- [email protected] vada Wilderness and the entire Neva- da environmental community vigor- ously oppose. 2 d

Hold the anchovies! Lincoln County Wilderness By Roger Scholl and Brian Beffort On June 16, 2004, the entire bipartisan Nevada better. We are constantly asking them to do just Congressional delegation introduced the Lincoln that, but we also recognize that they work for County Conservation, Recreation and Develop- every other Nevadan as well, some of whom ment Act of 2004. Like the Clark County bill that have requested things we don’t like. As with so passed in 2002, the Act is not a wilderness bill, but rather an omnibus public lands bill that would leg- islate several actions involving public lands in the county. Some of these actions we support and are working to make stronger. Others we oppose and are working to eliminate. As we at Friends of Nevada Wilderness weigh the pros and cons of the different parts of the Act, we are reminded of the sometimes-frustrating way in which Congress works. Maybe it’s the fact that we haven’t had lunch yet today, but somehow this legislative process re- minds us of food. So here’s an analogy: In early 2001, our Congressional delegation an- nounced they would be baking a Lincoln County public-lands pizza. For several reasons (efficiency and expediency might be two), the delegation has chosen to address many eastern Nevada land is- sues in one big pizza, as they did in Clark County in 2002. They invited the public to provide their Mormon concerns and proposals as ingredients. Rural citi- many other bills working through Congress (the Mountains zens, local governments, land management agen- Energy and Appropriations bills are good exam- proposed cies, sportsmen, miners, off-road vehicle enthusi- ples), the Lincoln County bill has both good in- wilderness area asts and the Nevada Wilderness Coalition re- gredients and bad. Until it passes, we will work sponded. Each group brought its favorite ingredi- to add more good stuff and get rid of the bad. ents. As much as we believe in wilderness, we be- Now the delegation has assembled the pizza, lieve in American Democracy more. Rather than and we’re looking at it before it goes into the throwing bombs at each other, we gather around oven. We don’t like what we see. Someone else the table to contribute to a political pizza with brought anchovies (we hate anchovies), and we other Americans. It’s not always delicious, but “Come on in – the want more mushrooms. we see it as our only choice, as today’s political earth, like the sun, If this were our party, we would have done climate won’t tolerate a mushroom-only pizza. If belongs to everyone and to no one.” things differently (more mushrooms, no ancho- not everyone sees the ecological, aesthetic and - Edward Abbey vies), but it’s not. We have to remind ourselves health benefits of mushrooms, we will continue that we’re not the only ones at the table, and to talk with them until they understand and ap- we’re not in control of the process. Such is the preciate what we find obvious. nature of cordial dining and American politics. Leaving the table entirely only further polariz- Some argue that our elected leaders work for es our politics, which isn’t good for wilderness or us, and that we should demand a pizza we like our country. 3 V Proposed wilderness areas in

Lincoln County see legend opposite page

Mission Statement Keeping Nevada Wild!

Friends of Nevada Wilderness is dedicated to preserving all qualified Nevada public lands as Wilderness, protecting all potential Wilderness from ongoing threats including mining, over- grazing, road construction, and off-road vehicle use, educating the public on the values of – and need for – Wilderness, and improving the management and restoration of these public wild lands.

4 W Nevada’s Congressional delegation comments on aspects of the bill Here are a few quotes and statements fom Ne- “When the Public Lands vada’s Congressional delegation on the Lincoln Management Act was signed into law, it was my County bill. From June 16, 2004 hope that it would serve as a blueprint “The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation for other bills beneficial to Nevada’s and Development Act represents a comprehensive environment,” Senator John Ensign “We do not expect plan that balances the needs for infrastructure de- said. everyone to advocate Representative Shelley Berkley velopment, recreation opportunities, and conserva- every provision of this said, “This bipartisan legislative pack- tion of our natural resources and public lands in bill. In fact, I don’t Lincoln County, Nevada,” said Senator Reid. “We age strikes a careful balance between do not expect everyone to advocate every provi- the need for additional resources to imagine that anyone sion of this bill. In fact, I don’t imagine that anyone meet the demands of southern Nevada will champion every will champion every provision of this bill.” and a desire to spur economic develop- provision of this bill.” Reid goes on to discuss the variety of opinions ment and expand the tax base in Lin- —Senator Harry Reid and reactions to this bill: “The only common thread coln County. I am pleased that this bill in these views is that they are perspectives pas- designates important wilderness areas sionately held by Nevadans. I hope this context il- that will be protected as open space for future lustrates why compromise is not just desirable but generations and provides funding and thousands necessary.” of acres of BLM land to create more parks and trails in Lincoln County.” “A product of Legend for map, opposite page compromise, this bill will expand the tax Wilderness provides WILDERNESS AREA ACRES ACRES base by allowing for refuge for DESIGNATED RELEASED more private develop- endangered animal Wilderness Study Areas ment in Lincoln and plant species, 1 Far South Egans 36,384 16,195 County where the protects vital 2 Fortifications Range 28,837 13,574 federal government watersheds to ensure 3 White Rock Range 24,413 125 controls over 98 per- a high quality water cent of the land supply for life in and 4 Parsnip Peak 45,837 44,078 out of wilderness now,” said Congress- 5 Table Mountain 0 35,958 areas and provides 6 Tunnel Spring 5,530 0 man Gibbons. “At the much needed 7 Clover Mountains 85,757 4,993 same time, we will inspiration for the protect thousands of 8 Evergreen A, B, and C 0 2,694 American psyche. acres of wilderness 9 Delamar Mountains 111,389 19,021 As the nation becomes while also promoting more populated, and 10 Meadow Valley Range 124,833 60,910 public access to pub- open spaces more 11 Mormon Mountains 153,939 16,875 lic lands through the difficult to find, the 12 Weepah Springs 51,117 11,524 creation of a desig- once intimidating 13 Worthington Mountains 30,936 14,892 nated off-highway expanse of Nevada 14 South Pahroc Range 25,638 4,677 vehicle trail for resi- has come to signify freedom. Citizen Areas dents and visitors to – Outrock 15 Big Rocks 13,913 0 enjoy. This is a good 16 Mt. Irish 31,088 0 bill for Lincoln Coun- Total 769,611 245,516 ty, and I look forward to its passage.” 5 z z AEastern long road travelled Nevada wilderness campaign By Brian Beffort and Shaaron Netherton In 2001, while Friends of Nevada Wilderness vironmental community wanted to see long-term and the Nevada Wilderness Coalition were fo- legal protection of wilderness, but many locals felt cused largely on negotiating the Clark County that the lands would stay protected without it.” Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resourc- “It was an interesting experience for me,” said es Act of 2002, representatives from the Tri-Coun- Brian Beffort. “Not only was it valuable to see ties (Lincoln, White Pine and Nye) began meeting the country where my grandmother grew up, we to discuss wilderness were negotiating with and other public-lands several of my distant issues in the region. cousins. They might Pristine forever, They shared their con- have been happier to now and for the cerns with Nevada’s meet me if discussions unborn. Let us Congressional delega- hadn’t been so politi- keep these tion, who expressed cally charged.” miracles, these interest in addressing Although discus- these issues after the sions were often heat- splendors Clark County bill was ed and produced few pristine forever, enacted. The delega- agreements on bound- these sources of tion encouraged stake- aries and other specif- man’s spirit, holders to begin dis- ics, both sides learned symbols of his cussing issues. a lot. Wilderness advo- Delamar Mountains proposed wilderness area. goals, Lincoln and White cates learned the spe- landscapes Pine counties formed technical review teams cific, on-the-ground concerns of locals about wil- eternally of (TRTs) to bring concerned stakeholders together derness designation in their backyards. Lincoln freedom. to discuss issues involving wilderness designation. County residents were able to replace many of Members of the Lincoln County TRT included their fears and rumors with facts about what wil- –Nancy Newhall county commissioners, staff from UNR’s Cooper- derness designation allows and prohibits. ative Extension, Nevada Division of Wildlife, con- Although TRT discussions produced no con- cerned citizens, as well as Hermi and John Hiatt sensus on wilderness, we all participated in De- representing Red Rock Audubon (and also board mocracy at its most vital — face-to-face discus- members of Friends of Nevada Wilderness), Brian sions among citizens about issues of concern to Beffort, whose grandmother was born and raised all, which are necessary steps to finding political- in Panaca, and Bart Koehler of the Wilderness So- solutions. ciety. The TRT discussions helped shape the Wilder- In December 2001, Senators Ensign and Reid ness Coalition’s Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal for issued an invitation to the TRT to expand discus- Lincoln and White Pine Counties, which we pre- sions “beyond the treatment of Wilderness Study sented to the Congressional delegation and the Areas to address other public land and economic public in June, 2003. It highlights about 2.5 million development issues in this important region.” acres in Lincoln County with high wilderness val- Throughout 2002 and into 2003, the TRT met at ues. Other stakeholders, including Lincoln County least monthly in Alamo, Pioche and Caliente and and the Nevada Mining Association, submitted sponsored field trips to the Mormon and Meadow their wilderness and public lands proposals to the Valley mountains and the Parsnip Peak WSAs. Congressional delegation. The delegation then Hermi Hiatt remembered the hostility shown by balanced everyone’s proposals to draft the Lin- many locals toward the wilderness folks on the coln County Conservation, Recreation and Devel- team. But as time went on, she said trust began to opment Act. build on both sides. Not once during the TRT’s discussions did wa- “We found that we weren’t very far apart on ter development or pipelines ever come up. See what we wanted — to see the landscape stay the John Hiatt’s article on Las Vegas water on same way it had always been,” she said. “The en- page 11. 6 z z How you can help improve the bill Please write the Nevada Congressional delegation and urge them to add the following to the Lincoln County bill: Wilderness tions available to commercial and residential sec- PThe entire 2.5-million-acre Citizens’ Wilder- tors in Las Vegas. Extreme drought measures ness Proposal for Lincoln County should be desig- should be instigated immediately in southern Neva- nated. In particular, the Pahranagat Range should da to reduce water consumption. be included in this bill, to protect its incredible ar- SEND LETTERS TO Other things to do THE EDITOR chaeology. P Whether water ever flows in these proposed P This bill should include wilderness designa- Reno Gazette Journal pipelines is a state, NOT a federal, decision. It is tion for the ecologically-significant Desert National [email protected] critical to become active in the upcoming state leg- Wildlife Range lands managed by the US Fish and islative session and be on the alert for more at- Las Vegas Review Wildlife Service. tempts by Vidler Water and others to make it easi- Journal P This bill needs to reserve explicit wilderness [email protected] er to broker water. It is CRITICAL to inform the water rights. state water engineer that inter-basin water transfer Las Vegas Sun Other issues is a bad idea for the arid West. lvsun.com/opinion P All water pipeline rights-of-way should be P Get involved to help protect rural water from removed from this bill. future water grabs. P The water study needs to be expanded for Contact these groups for information. all of eastern Nevada. CAd Hoc Water Group, c/o Joe Edsen at P Before Las Vegas relies on rural water to (775) 348-7557. support its burgeoning growth, a thorough analysis CSierra Club, c/o Dennis Ghiglieri (775) 329- must be completed on all water-conservation op- 6118. www.toiyabe.sierraclub.org

Nevada’s Congressional Leaders

Note: Due to the discovery of ricin and anthrax at Washington senate buildings, mail to DC may face serious delays. Use Nevada addresses or fax instead.

Senator Harry Reid Representative Shelley Berkeley Las Vegas Las Vegas Lloyd D. George Building 2340 Paseo Del Prado, Suite D-106 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, # 8016 Las Vegas, NV 89102 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone: (702) 220-9823 Phone: 702-388-5020 Reno Senator John Ensign 400 So. Virginia Street, # 902 Carson City Reno, NV 89501 600 East William St., # 304 Phone: 775-686-5750 Carson City, Nevada 89701 Fax: 775-686-5757 Las Vegas Rural Nevada Mobile Office 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South, # 8203 Phone: 775-772-3905 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 Phone: (702) 388-6605 Representative Jim Gibbons Reno Representative Jon Porter 400 South Virginia Street, # 502 2501 N. Green Valley Pkway, #112D Reno, Nevada 89501 Henderson, NV 89014 Phone: 775-686-5760 Phone: 702-387-4941

Hikers at Weepah Springs proposed wilderness 7 8 Explaining the titles in the bill By Shaaron Netherton TITLE I – FEDERAL LAND SALES – TITLE II – WILDERNESS – Separate Article The first part of this title redirects the BLM to TITLE III – UTILITY CORRIDORS – auction about 13,373 acres on the outskirts of This is the title that many citizens and organiza- Mesquite, on the Utah border. Congress mandated tions (including Friends of Nevada Wilderness) this sale in the Lin- strongly oppose. It would establish utility corridors coln County Land for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (256 Although this bill Act of 2000. This ti- miles) and the Lincoln County Water District/ tle renders moot a re- Vidler Water (192 miles). After National Environ- The Nevada Bu- establishes corridors cent court decision mental Policy Act compliance, the bill would desig- reau of Land Man- and rights-of-way, it directing the BLM to nate rights-of-way for water pipelines, etc., to con- agement has on- will not transfer prepare an Environ- vey water in Clark and Lincoln counties. All corri- line information water. Only the State mental Impact State- dors and rights-of-way would be along major about Wilderness ment (EIS) before roads. None would be in wilderness. The bill also Water Engineer has selling the land. authorizes a U.S. Geological Survey/Desert Re- study areas this authority. The second part search Institute water resource study for White www.nv.blm.gov/ authorizes the BLM Pine County. wilderness to sell up to 87,005 acres of BLM land mostly ad- Although this bill establishes corridors and displays informa- jacent to Caliente, Panaca, Alamo, Pioche, Hiko, rights-of-way, it will not transfer water. Only the tion on all the wil- Rachel and Carp. The BLM can stop sale of State Water Engineer has this authority. Regard- derness study ar- 10,000 of these acres to protect sensitive resourc- less of whether this legislation is passed or not, the es. Land will be sold to the highest bidders at an- BLM is currently working on a Resource Manage- eas (WSAs) in the nual auctions for not less than fair market value. ment Plan (RMP) that will address similar utility state including Proceeds from these annual auctions would be corridors. The BLM regularly issues rights-of-way maps that show distributed to benefit education, economic develop- for powerlines, fiber optic cables, gas and water grazing allotments, ment and resource management. Currently, 98% pipelines through its normal BLM regulations. spring develop- of Lincoln County is public land. These proposed water pipeline rights-of-way could ments, land owner- While we support some public lands being sold and would be granted by the BLM without legisla- tion. ship, etc. There for community expansion and other reasons, this acreage seems exces- are several maps sive. Maps on our web per area as well as site show specific loca- a several page tions. Regardless of write-up for each of whether this legislation the WSAs. is passed or not, the BLM is currently work- ing on a Resource Man- agement Plan (RMP) that will address similar land sales in Lincoln County. Money from land sales conducted un- der the RMP would go into the general treasury and would not be avail- able for resource man- agement or other uses instate. 8 9 one at a time Friends of Nevada Wilderness, the broader en- vironmental community and many rural residents see Las Vegas’ demand for water as a fight that will not go away. It will be critical in the coming years for all citizens who want to protect rural Nevada’s water from metropolitan areas to be vigilant in opposing inter-basin water transfers at the state legislature and to the State Water Engi- neer, where such decisions are made. The bill would also move an undeveloped right- is another reason why these areas need to become Photos, from left: of-way on the east side of Highway 93 to an ex- wilderness before there’s too little left to save. Worthington TITLE IV – SILVER Mountains, White Rock STATE OFF-HIGHWAY and South Pahrocs VEHICLE TRAIL - The proposed wilderness bill would establish a 260- areas. mile Silver State Off-High- way Vehicle Trail along a series of existing back- country roads that are cur- rently open and used by OHV enthusiasts. None of the trail would enter wil- derness, although several miles would follow the boundary of the proposed Big Rocks Wilderness Area. The bill requires a Here you will find management plan be pre- countless peaks and pared and allows the BLM valleys, deserts and to close trails to protect lakes, wildlife and the isting utility corridor on the west side, between people and natural resources. stillness of the vast Highway 168 and Kane Springs Road. Coyote TITLE V – STATE & COUNTY PARKS – basin and range. Springs Investment (Harvey Whittemore), the This title would allow the BLM to convey up to Silence. A great owner of the private property to the east of High- 4,851 acres of land to expand Cathedral Gorge, spacial silence – is pure in the basin and way 93, will pay the federal government for the Beaver Dam and Kershaw Ryan state parks. The range. It is a soundless bill would also allow for BLM to convey up to appreciated value of the property because of the immensity with removal of the right-of-way. 14,330 acres to the county for the conservation of mountains in it. You’re Although this transfer would make little differ- natural resources or public parks. These are mostly alone with god in that ence on the ground, it could be advantageous for along highways or near the Silver State OHV Trail. silence. the developer anyway. Friends of Nevada Wilder- TITLE VI – JURISDICTION TRANS- – John McPhee ness would like to see the entire 43,000-acre Coy- FERS – This title would transfer about 8,503 acres ote Springs property back in public ownership in- of BLM land to Desert National Wildlife Range, stead of becoming the largest master-planned giving these lands better environmental protection. community in southern Nevada, with up to 125,000 About 8,382 acres of DNWR land would be trans- homes and 10 golf courses. This community would ferred to the BLM to facilitate the Coyote Spring be very close to the “Big Four” wilderness areas utility corridor and would have little environmental (the Mormon, Delamar, Meadow Valley and Clo- impact. ver WSAs). The development of this community 9 z z What’s at stake? Eastern Nevada Groundwater By Tom Myers, hydrologist and former Conservation Director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness detailed and long-term studies will allow scientists Driving through the arid valleys of eastern Ne- to predict the impacts that could occur from differ- vada, it is hard to imagine that there may be vast ing levels of development. amounts of water lying hundreds or thousands of Ultimately, the public must determine whether feet underground. But there is, and the Southern the negative impacts of groundwater development Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) wants much of are an acceptable trade-off for furthering growth it to allow Las Vegas to continue growing. in southern Nevada. A heartfelt In their natural state, all aquifers (water-bear- Thank You ing geologic formations) are in equilibrium, with in- flow equaling outflow. Inflow recharges the aqui- Who decides water flows? to all the fer through snowmelt percolating into the mountain The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation Friends of bedrock or floodwaters soaking into streambanks. and Development Act of 2004 would allow 448 Nevada Outflow depletes the aquifer through plant transpi- miles of water pipelines to be built across public ration, springs, streams and possibly the intermit- lands in Lincoln and Clark counties. Whether the Wilderness water flows through these pipelines will be a de- new members, tent lakes that form on playas around the state. Add wells to the aquifer, start pumping water out, cision for the state water engineer, because wa- ter allocation is controlled by the state, not the and longtime and the outflow increases. In turn, this eventually federal government. The Bill affirms the state’s supporting lowers the water table. With recharge staying the jurisdiction in this matter. — FNW foot note. members. same (as it must unless the climate becomes wetter), pumping wells eventually take water from wetlands, springs and streams. This might take a while, be- cause the wells could be far from the springs, The scoop on Lincoln streams and other natural discharge points. County water politics The deep carbonate aquifer is fractured bedrock Several years ago, Lincoln County and Vidler that underlies much of eastern Nevada, from the Water entered into a questionable water agree- Ruby Mountains south and west to Death Valley. ment in which Vidler paid Lincoln County $2 mil- Fractures in the bedrock, such as faults along moun- lion dollars. However, in 2003 the Nevada Attor- tain ranges, affect the flow because they are thou- ney General’s Office made a determination that sands of times more permeable than solid rock. counties did not have the legal authority to make Springs in Ash Meadows, along the Amargosa these kinds of water agreements. During the 2003 River, in Death Valley, the Muddy and White riv- legislative session, Vidler Water and their 18 paid ers, and Pahranagat Valley all result from deep lobbyists worked to make it easier to sell water in carbonate water. The aquifer could have been re- Nevada. charged hundreds of miles to the north, but be- State Senate Bill 487 was introduced, making it cause fractures transmit water quickly, the water legal for most of Nevada’s counties to enter into might have traveled those hundreds of miles in just water selling agreements. This bill was defeated. a few decades. However, at the end of the legislative session, The thickness of the rock and the high water Vidler Water, representing Lincoln County, pushed flows in some of these places can give the impres- through State Senate Bill 336. This bill, signed into sion that water can be pumped for decades with- law by Governor Guinn on June 11, 2003, created out impact. But deep pumping may lower the wa- the Lincoln County Water District (controlled by ter level in the aquifer, drying springs and streams, the Lincoln County Commissioners) and gave them just as opening the drain in a bathtub lowers its legal authority to enter into water agreements and water level. to sell water outside of the county as well as out- It is not a matter of whether developing this side of the state. The Lincoln County Commission aquifer will impact other resources (e.g., springs, / Vidler Water is now asking for hundreds of miles streams, wildlife habitat and water availability to of water pipelines to be constructed in Lincoln local communities), but when it will happen. Only County. 10 z z Water in the By John Hiatt The Las Vegas Valley Water District (LV- est precipitation levels since the start of record VWD) and other water merchants in the Las Ve- keeping. The continuing drought has lowered reser- gas Valley have long coveted the groundwater re- voir levels on the Colorado faster than anyone antic- sources of Lincoln, Nye and White Pine Counties. ipated. By the end of 2004, is expected In 1989, the LVVWD filed applications with the to reach its key trigger level, a surface elevation of State Water Engineer asking for all unappropriated 1,125 feet above sea level. According to the agree- Silence. A great groundwater in most of Lincoln and parts of Nye ment, this level means Nevada will only be able to spacial silence – and White Pine Counties. A storm of protest fol- use 300,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water in is pure in the lowed. 2005. Nevada took about 275,000 acre-feet from basin and range. As a result of the protests and a study detailing the River in 2003 and will probably take the same or It is a soundless just how expensive it would be to construct the in- a little more this year. immensity with frastructure to move the water, LVVWD asked However, the Las Vegas Valley continues to be mountains in it. the State Engineer to delay action on its applica- the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country. You’re alone with tions but retain its seniority in filing. There the situ- Even with a major push for water conservation, the god in that ation rested as the LVVWD worked to get more valley’s master water merchant, the Southern Ne- silence. water from the Colorado River. This strategy was vada Water Authority (SNWA), will not be able to – John McPhee sufficient to meet the short-term (measured in meet demand without finding additional sources of years rather than decades) needs of the Las Ve- water. Hence, an accelerated effort to obtain new gas Valley. water supplies. With neighboring states either un- In 2001, two factors dramatically changed the able or unwilling to provide water, the only alterna- picture. The Bureau of Reclamation, which man- tive is to use Nevada water. ages the river, and its ultimate boss, Secretary of As a result of the the Interior Gail Norton, recognized that the rapidly approaching water growing population in the West would soon need crisis, the SNWA is all the water the Colorado River could provide, and trying to secure addi- then some. tional water supplies The first step in meeting future obligations as soon as possible. would be to get each state using more than its al- In 2003, the SNWA lotment of water from the river to reduce its reli- asked the Nevada ance on the river. California has long overused its Congressional dele- allotment by some 800,000 acre-feet per year. gation to designate Nevada was just starting to exceed its allotment. pipeline rights-of- Arizona would take its allotment within a few way across federal years. Thus a new legal agreement, the Quantifi- (BLM) land. The cation Settlement Agreement, was born. delegation, already After much teeth gnashing, wrangling, missed thinking about a Lincoln County Public Lands Bill to Big Rocks proposed deadlines and the threat of an immediate cutback address other issues, was receptive to the idea. wilderness area to allotment limits, California finally signed the Fast-forward to today, when a bill has been intro- agreement in September 2003. This agreement duced to do just that. stipulates that each overusing State has a 15-year The bill includes only pipeline corridors in Clark grace period to reduce consumption to its statutory and Lincoln Counties, but clearly those corridors are allotment, provided there is sufficient storage in the laid out and pointed north to tap the largest aquifers, river’s reservoirs to meet demand. Storage levels which are in White Pine County. were established that defined how much water Although the ultimate decision about how much over and above the allotments could be taken from groundwater can be pumped from Lincoln and the river. White Pine counties will be made by the State Wa- The current drought in the West started in 2000 ter Engineer, the race to obtain that water and pump and appears to have peaked in 2002, with the low- it to Las Vegas is in high gear. 11