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Walker Lake
Support water acquisitions for endangered lake ecosystem
The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is seeking pubic comment for its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on a program designed to acquire water for an imperiled lake in western Nevada that is critical habitat to a threatened species of trout and thousands of migratory birds.
Since 1882, Walker Lake has lost 75 percent of its volume because of Walker River water diversions, primarily for agriculture. The river is over-allocated, and cannot meet all water demands, even in normal water years, leaving little or no inflow for Walker Lake. The 149-foot decline in lake elevation has caused total dissolved solid (TDS) concentrations to increase from 2,500 milligrams per liter (mg/l) in 1882 to a recent all-time high of 17,500 mg/l. These high TDS levels have threatened the lake’s fishery and associated ecosystems including habitat for the largest congregation of common loons west of the Mississippi River.
Walker River water has low TDS, and increased river flow over a sufficiently long period of time should lower Walker Lake TDS and restore the fishery. The Nevada System of Higher Education was granted $70 million for research and fresh water acquisitions to begin Walker Lake’s recovery process. You can help by letting the Bureau of Reclamation know that you support water acquisitions for Walker Lake. Fore more information on the DEIS see http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2810.
Please edit and send the message below to the BOR by Oct. 5, 2009 to support water acquisitions for Walker Lake.
1. I commend the Bureau of Reclamation for taking the lead in addressing the urgent ecological threat to Walker Lake. 2. Of the alternatives included in the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), Alternative 1 would best protect and restore Walker Lake by providing a permanent additional 50,000 afa to the lake. Although more water is needed to restore the lake to a healthy condition, Alternative 1 provides sufficient water to begin restoring native fish habitat and recreation opportunities at Walker Lake. Any administration of an acquisition program should be performed by an entity directed toward the restoration of Walker Lake. 3. I strongly urge BOR not to adopt the DEIS’s “No Action Alternative.” This alternative would result in lower water levels and increased TDS levels, and eventually, complete fresh-water ecosystem collapse that would prohibit native fish habitat and lead to a substantial decline in migratory bird use at the lake. By extension, severe harm to public health in the windshed region of Walker Lake would be ominous due to increased dust emissions from further reliction of the lake and exposure of its bed to winds. In contrast, any potential for increased dust emissions resulting from the water acquisition program could be mitigated by the planting of native grasses on fallowed land. 4. I support augmenting purchased water rights with leased water for Walker Lake through a leasing program managed by an entity directed toward the restoration of the lake. 5. I support the use of water conservation methods under the Walker Basin Project providing that saved water be used only for the restoration of Walker Lake. 6. I believe that the EIS must include methods for enforcing and assessing the success of any water delivery program performed by an entity with the mission of restoring of Walker Lake.
©
1994-2009 Nevada Wildlife Federation /
PO Box 71238, Reno, NV 89570
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