Stillwater and Carson Lake Wetlands

Carson Lake Wetlands
© Jim Stimson

Stillwater is Nevada's largest wetland and a critical staging and nesting area on the Pacific Flyway. The Conservancy has worked with partners to help pioneer an innovative water-rights purchase program to save these crucial wetlands.

Size
Goal is to restore an average of 25,000 acres of wetlands.

Location
Western Nevada

Species
Numerous migratory birds

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Carson Lake Wetlands have shrunk to less than 10,000 acres. Without human intervention, these wetlands would continue to disappear, which would be devastating to the migratory birds that rely on it as a key stopover point on the Pacific Flyway.

Partners
State of Nevada, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Waterfowl Association, and local parties in the Lahontan Valley including the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District and Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Since 1989, when an innovative water rights purchase program was pioneered, the Conservancy, State of Nevada, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nevada Waterfowl Association have purchased close to 30,000 acre-feet of water rights in close to fifty transactions. These purchases have put these internationally significant wetlands back on the map, with a goal to restore an average of 25,000 acres of wetlands.

The Nature Conservancy has worked closely with local parties in the Lahontan Valley to address community concerns about the potential impacts of the water rights acquisition program. As a result, managers of the Great Basin's premier wetlands are now able to rely on water rights to protect the wetlands during dry years. Thanks to this greater flexibility, the wetlands have recovered since the 1987-1992 drought: shorebird numbers reached a ten-year high in the fall of 1999, and more than a million water birds were counted that October during a weeklong survey.

Future plans include the development of visitor facilities and interpretative materials. The Nature Conservancy will continue to assist the State of Nevada acquire water rights with funding from the 1990 Question 5 bond issue.