| Fast Facts |
location
125 miles northwest of Las Vegas
ecoregion
Mojave Desert
project size
3 million acres
preserves
Torrance Ranch, Parker Ranch
public lands
bulk of project area owned by Bureau of Land Management; Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Death Valley National Park
partners
Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nevada Division of Wildlife, University of Nevada-Reno, Nye County, Town of Beatty
conservancy initiatives
Invasive Species
natural events
neotropical migratory birds, spring and fall; wildflower blooms in the desert uplands, spring | |
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Competing demands for water threaten to drain this desert oasis at the headwaters of the Amargosa River, home to more than 50 species found nowhere else on Earth. |
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Torrance Ranch.
© Jim Stimson |
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From its headwaters in Oasis Valley to Death Valley 125 miles away in California, the Amargosa River courses beneath the Mojave Desert, mostly unseen and undetectable. It surfaces only sporadically as springs and seeps—true oases in the country’s most arid state. The wetlands engender prolific islands of trees, grasses and creatures uniquely adapted to this system of harsh extremes, including more than 50 fish, snail, amphibian and plant species that exist nowhere else on the planet.
In the Oasis Valley, the Amargosa has long drawn people as well. Paiute and Shoshone tribes have continuously occupied the valley for several centuries, living off its abundance of surface waters, wild grains and game. Their stone tools, arrowheads and petroglyphs are found throughout this part of the forbidding Mojave. In the early 1900s, three major railroad lines intersected here, bringing settlers and miners to the area’s booming gold towns, dubbed the “Chicago of the West.” |
Collared lizard.
© Alan D. St. John |
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The natural wonders of the Amargosa are now in jeopardy as the precious lifeline of underground water is in danger of being siphoned off by two of the nation’s fast-growing cities: Las Vegas and Pahrump. The river and its spring oases are key to the survival of the Amargosa toad, whose federal listing as endangered was forestalled in 1996 when The |
| Nature Conservancy led an effort to protect its habitat through a management agreement among seven public agencies. | |
To address the issue of excessive water withdrawal throughout the river system, the Conservancy is assembling a regional water coalition to influence current and future uses of water in the Amargosa River system. In the Oasis Valley, we are working with the community of Beatty to rid the streams and wetlands of tamarisk and crayfish, invasive species that are harming native ones like the Amargosa toad and the Oasis Valley speckled dace.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Nevada. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
Mojave Desert, riparian woodland and wetlands, freshwater springs, cactus, desert tortoise, kit fox, Amargosa toad, gila monster, Oasis Valley speckled dace, Oasis Valley springsnail, Devil’s Hole pupfish
stresses
excessive water withdrawal, invasive species
strategies
protect water supply, combat invasive species, engage community in natural resource management, promote ecotourism
results
655 acres in conservation management; Conservation Area Plan completed for larger Amargosa River System | | | | |
