"The Nature Conservancy is the best thing to happen to the Truckee since trout!"

So said professional fishing guide Andy Burke after he saw how the Conservancy has transformed northern Nevada’s Truckee River — a process that culminated in actually turning the river into a new channel at the Conservancy's McCarran Ranch preserve, 15 miles east of Reno.

A century of neglect had left the Truckee blighted — its native trout extinct and its remaining species struggling for survival. But the Conservancy has been leading the river's restoration as an important ecological and economic asset to Nevada.  

"Our goal is to jump-start the Truckee’s ecosystem and reestablish its equilibrium," says Michael Cameron, director of the Conservancy's Truckee River Project. "Nature does that in geologic timeframes; we’re trying to do it in a few years."

The Near-Death of a River

The Truckee was once a wild waterway that sustained Native Americans for thousands of years and awed early European explorers with its bounty of fish and waterfowl — including 40 pound Lahontan Cutthroat trout, which swam the river's entire 106-mile course.

But development and dams severely reduced the river's flow and degraded its ecosystem during the 20th century. For instance, the Lower Truckee — a 60-mile stretch of the river between Reno/Sparks and Pyramid Lake — lost up to one-half its natural flow, 90 percent of its forest, and 70 percent of its bird population from 1900 levels. The trout also disappeared.

So the Conservancy moved into action — initiating a water-rights acquisition program and buying land along the river beginning in 1992. At McCarran Ranch, which the Conservancy purchased in 2002, we created a national model for how to repair a broken river by:

• Rebuilding natural meanders, which provide habitat for fish, birds and insects;
• Replanting lost native shrubs, grasses and trees such as cottonwoods and willows to bring back 120 acres of a lost riparian forest; 
• Creating free access along the river and its land corridor for fish, wildlife and people; and 
• Recreating habitat such as rearing ponds for threatened turtles and frogs.

New Digs for Trout and Other Wildlife

The river's channel at the ranch had been straightened as part of a 1962 flood-control project — which caused groundwater to drop beyond the reach of riverside vegetation.

So the Conservancy raised the river's bottom and narrowed its width, reconnecting the river to the floodplain. Rocks were also reintroduced to create complexity in the river's habitat.

In addition, we have also constructed or enhanced a series of riffles (shallows of whitewater) and pools that have brought back fish to the Truckee in big numbers. Brown, rainbow, and hatchery-raised Lahontan Cutthroat trout are now in abundance in these areas. 

To date, we have bought or facilitated the purchase of 12 miles along the Lower Truckee and more than 1,000 acres of its floodplain and wildlife corridors. Upstream, near the Nevada/California state line, the Conservancy is facilitating the purchase of an additional 7 river miles and over 3,200 acres.

"The Nature Conservancy is leading the way in advocating for the Truckee," says Susan Lynn, a Nevada environmentalist and longtime voice for the river's restoration.

Clean Water for Wildlife and People

By creating a mosaic of protected lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands, the Conservancy will preserve some of the Sierra Nevada’s most scenic and abundant landscapes, unfragmented wildlife corridors and native plants and animals.

At the same time, we can ensure that fast-growing Sierra communities like Reno and Truckee, California continue to enjoy one of the cleanest water supplies in the West.

As the Truckee River begins to thrive once more, it is again becoming the heart of northwestern Nevada’s beauty, quality of life, and economic health. 
 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Laura Crane/TNC (Trout); Photo © Scott Sady (Truckee River channel restoration); Photo © Laura Crane/TNC (Fishing)