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Take Action for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge |
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Where is it? The southern boundary of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge is just a few miles north of Las Vegas. However, the main access is 23 miles north of the city on U.S. Highway 95. A sign on the east side of the highway marks the four-mile gravel road to Corn Creek, where there’s a field station and visitor information. The Desert Refuge spans across Clark and Lincoln counties and the western half is also part of the military’s Nellis Test Range, where public access is prohibited.
Why does it need protection? Even though this area is a National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1936 to preserve and manage desert bighorn sheep and habitat, it is still not safe from development. (Think oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). The Desert Refuge is just a few miles away from one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. New housing developments, energy corridors, military expansion, mining and agency underfunding all pose possible threats to the area and its wildlife. Wilderness designations—the strongest protection allowed by law—are needed to make sure this area stays the way it is today. (What is "Wilderness?" - click here)
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How can I help?
- Contact Senators Reid, Ensign, and your Representative and ask them to protect the Desert National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, the strongest protection possible for our public lands.
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper voicing support for greater protection of the Desert Refuge.
- Visit the Desert Refuge! Check our events calendar for an outing or restoration trip, or contact us to schedule one for your group.
What is the Desert National Wildlife Refuge's current status? Right around 1900, the bighorn population was dwindling due to overhunting, disease and human encroachment. Now the population has rebounded to approximately 700 sheep on the Desert Refuge. But refuges aren’t safe from development and human impacts. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the agency recommended almost 1.5 million acres as suitable wilderness to congress back in 1974. The Service has managed these areas as “de facto” wilderness ever since, but without wilderness designation from Congress, the future of these areas is murky: you can see evidence of this in a recent proposal to slice transmission lines through the area. Read the news article here.
THREATS:
Bald Eagle, photo courtesy of the US Fish & Wildlife Service
- New housing developments in North Las Vegas and Coyote Springs bring more people living closer to the Desert Refuge, creating a strain on natural resources, such as groundwater, that the bighorn and other wildlife rely on. In addition, more residents equals more off-road vehicles which, when used illegally off of designated roads, rip up the fragile desert lands.
- Many people are puzzled when they hear that half the Desert Refuge is used by the military for the Nellis Test Range. The bighorn find refuge in the mountains (test bombs hit the valleys), but possible military expansion remains a large issue.
- Climate change? - Yes. All our public lands are becoming more and more important as we realize the affects climate change is having on wildlife populations and ourselves. Read more about the connection between refuges and climate here on our blog.
- Without congressional wilderness designation, many issues have potential to rear their heads. For example, the Dept. of Energy’s proposal to put energy corridors in Refuge – or the mining withdrawl expiring without renewal.
RESOURCES:
At approximately 1.6 million acres, the Desert Refuge is the largest Refuge in the lower 48 states. It contains six major mountain ranges, the highest rising to an elevation of almost 10,000 feet. Annual rainfall ranges from less than 4 inches at low elevations to more than 15 inches on the highest peaks. The wide range of elevation and rainfall has created amazingly diverse habitat suited to a wide variety of flora and fauna. The Desert Refuge is a land of great diversity; the Mojave Desert ecosystem merges with the Great Basin ecosystem on this vast landscape.
Burrowing Owl, photo by Stephen Ting, courtesy USFWS
Wildlife
- Along with the desert bighorn sheep, the Desert Refuge has 52 other species of mammals including mule deer, over 240 bird species and 31 species of reptiles and amphibians.
- Species of concern include the federally listed desert tortoise, bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. Others include the Hidden Forest uinta chipmunk, various bat species, Northern goshawk, burrowing owl, phainopepla and chuckwalla.
- Because of the Desert Refuge’s large scale and variety of ecosystems, and due to its location between the Spring Mountains to the west and Delamars and other ranges to the east, this area is important to wildlife for migration. Read more about this wildlife corridor and what we're doing to protect it here.
Plants
- With elevations ranging from 2,500 to almost 10,000 feet, many plant communities exist in the Refuge, from creosote flats to ponderosa pine forests. Also noteworthy is the fact that livestock grazing has not taken place on the Refuge for decades, resulting in rich, undisturbed plant habitat.
- Creosote bush and white bursage dominate the lower elevations. Above the valley floor, Mojave yucca and various cactus become abundant. At the upper edge of the desert shrub communities, between approximately 4,200 to 6,000 feet (1300 to 1800 m), black brush and Joshua tree are dominant. Above 6,000 feet (1800 m), the desert woodland, comprised of single leaf pinion and big sagebrush, begins. The coniferous communities begin around 7,000 feet (2100 m). From 7,000 to 9,000 feet (2100 to 2700 m) ponderosa pine and white fir are the dominant trees. Near 10,000 feet (3,000 m), where the growing season is the shortest, the only tree is the bristlecone pine.
- Plant species of concern include: Merriam's bearpoppy, Meadow Valley sandwort, Ackerman milkvetch, Sheep Range milkvetch, black woolypod, half-ring pod milkvetch, Cane Spring evening primrose, remote rabbitbush, sheep fleabane, rosy bicolored penstemon, Beatley's phacelia, Parish's phacelia, pygmy pore leaf, purple sage and Charleston ground-daisy.
Cultural
- Native Americans lived on the land that is now the Desert Refuge for thousands of years, leaving behind a scattering of cultural artifacts. These include rock shelters, agave roasting pits, ancient artifacts and rock art.
- At the turn of the century, humans used the area for various purposes, including small mines that are now abandoned. Pioneer wagon roads are now the main roads through the Refuge--the Morman Well and Alamo roads. A historic log cabin built deep in the Sheep Range at the turn of the century, and now recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, still stands today and is used by backcountry adventurers. It’s original purpose is unknown, but for many years it was used by the wildlife warden after the Refuge was designated in 1936.
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Cabin in Hidden Forest, photo by Nick Dobric
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Recreational
- The Desert Refuge is preserved for the desert bighorn sheep, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t recreational opportunities for us two-leggers. Hiking, horseback riding, camping, backpacking, are just a few. For detailed hiking information please go to our friend Jim Boone’s website, Bird and Hike.
- If you like driving on bumpy rocky roads, the Morman Well and Alamo roads offer good backcountry tours. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a good Desert Refuge website.
- Limited hunting for desert bighorn sheep is also permitted. Check with the Nevada Department of Wildlife for hunting regulations.
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