Refuge Habitat

USFWS Photo

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, NV encompasses over 22,000 acres of spring-fed wetlands and alkaline desert uplands. The Refuge is a major discharge point for a vast underground aquifer system stretching 100 miles to the northeast. Water-bearing strata comes to the surface in more than 30 seeps and springs, providing a rich and complex variety of habitats. Over 10,000 gallons per minute flow year round, most of which comes from seven major springs: Fairbanks, Rogers, Longstreet, Crystal, Point of Rocks, Jackrabbit, and Big Springs. The reason for this abundance of water in an otherwise dry and desolate region is the presence of a geological fault. The movement of this particular fault acts as an "underground dam," blocking the flow of water and forcing it to the surface. The water arriving at Ash Meadows is called "fossil" water, because it is believed to have entered the ground water system thousands of years ago.

Wetlands, springs, and springbrook channels are scattered throughout the refuge. Sandy dunes, rising up to 50 feet above the landscape, appear in the central portions of the refuge. Mesquite and ash groves flourish near wetlands and stream channels. Saltbush dominates large portions of the refuge in dry areas adjacent to wetlands. Creosote (shrub) habitat occurs in the drier elevated areas along the east and southeastern portions of the refuge. Eight species of cactus occur scattered throughout the refuge. A refuge plant list is available at refuge headquarters.

Ash Meadows was intensively farmed prior to its establishment as a National Wildlife Refuge. During the 1960's and early 1970's in particular, irrigated row crops, grazing, and development took a heavy toll on the area's natural resources. Plants, fish, and wildlife declined as pumping and diversion of spring channels, development of roads, large scale earth moving, and introduction of over 100 non-native plants and animals occurred in a "blink" of evolutionary time. The Carson Slough, an area in the northwestern portion of the refuge which was historically the largest wetland in southern Nevada, was drained and mined for its peat in the 1960's.

The refuge is currently in the habitat restoration stage and will likely remain so for years to come. The overall goal of the refuge and its Recovery Plan for threatened and endangered species is to restore the area to its natural historic condition. This will involve re-directing spring outflows back into former natural channels, restoring wetlands, removing non-native species (particularly saltcedar, bass, tropical fish, and crayfish), restoring native riparian and upland vegetation, and removing unnecessary structures such as roads, fences, and power lines.