Report: Wildlife refuge among most endangered

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Oct. 8, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Southern Nevada's Desert National Wildlife Refuge complex is one of the nation's 10 most endangered refuges, a report said today, but Nevada officials downplayed the study.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority's proposal to install groundwater monitoring wells on the sprawling refuge north and northwest of Las Vegas threatens spring-fed desert oases, according to the "Refuges at Risk" report by the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife

The group fears the plan will lead to a broader proposal to tap water for Las Vegas, a plan that could "literally suck the life from this important wildlife habitat," according to the wildlife group's statement.

The plan could hurt a range of species, from the bighorn sheep to the endangered Pahrump poolfish, the group said.

"The Desert Range and other national wildlife refuges in Southern Nevada were established for the people of the United States to preserve a great diversity of wild places and wildlife," Jim Waltman, a director at The Wilderness Society, said. "We should never sacrifice these wild places for commercial purposes."

The Nevada complex made the top 10 list because of the magnitude of the threat and the opportunity for action, said Noah Matson, director of federal lands programs at Defenders of Wildlife.

Tapping aquifers in the desert range would endanger all of the range's interconnected springs, he said. The water authority, as it seeks alternatives to the declining Colorado River, should look off the refuges for water, he said.

"Here, the first place they start, right out of the box, is a national wildlife refuge," Matson said. "That's just not acceptable."

Vince Alberta, Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesman, said the water authority is sensitive to how its plan could affect native species. "We're fully committed to not harming the environment," he said.

The water authority has requested approval from the state engineer for a plan to drill seven sites on the refuge that could yield up to 17,000 acre-feet of water a year, which is about enough for 24,000 homes, officials said.

Water likely can be tapped on the refuge without harming wildlife, said water authority general manager Patricia Mulroy. To test that theory, the water authority wants to drill 11 new monitoring wells for real-world data, she said.

"The important thing for everyone to remember is that until monitoring can occur, we will never know," Mulroy said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge complex, has not issued a call to alarm. The agency needs to know more details about the authority's plan, spokesman Dick Birger said.

"We're sort of in the information-gathering stage," he said.

Nevada officials note that the proposal faces more hurdles: an environmental impact statement; a memorandum of understanding with Fish and Wildlife; and final approval from the Nevada state engineer.

The desert refuge complex consists of four refuges in Southern Nevada, including the 1.5 million-acre Desert National Wildlife Refuge, which is the largest of the lower 48 states' wildlife refuges. Its focus is protecting bighorn sheep.

The complex also includes the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge; Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge; and Ash Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which contains 24 plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

The complex contains 17 threatened and endangered species, including the desert tortoise, Amargosa niterwort (a plant), and the Moapa dace (a small fish).

The nation has 540 wildlife refuges covering nearly 100 million acres in all 50 states, according to Defenders of Wildlife. The report was released in advance of National Wildlife Refuge Week, which begins Monday.