NYE COUNTY (FOX5) — A small town in Nye County continues to fight for more protection for one of its most precious resources — the neighboring Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
Residents want it to have federal protection at the level of Red Rock Canyon and prevent development nearby, including a proposed solar farm.
Ash Meadows is the largest remaining oasis in the Mojave Desert, home to at least 26 species of wildlife that live there and nowhere else on the planet. The refuge near the town of Amargosa Valley is known as the Galapagos of the desert.
Its pools created by natural springs are not only beautiful but ecologically important. The wetlands are a stone’s throw from Death Valley National Park, one of the hottest and driest places on Earth.
The area is also home to the Devil’s Hole pupfish, the rarest fish in the world. It lives deep in Devil’s Hole, an outpost of Death Valley National Park within Ash Meadows.
“President Truman designated it as part of Death Valley National Monument for the sole purpose of preserving habitat for the radically endangered Devil’s Hole pupfish,” explained Mason Voehl, executive director of Amargosa Conservancy.
Its population is closely monitored by scientists, dropping to less than a couple dozen in recent years. At the same time, new industry activity near the nature preserve started being proposed.
“We call it the lightning bolt to hit the river because it kind of woke everyone up to the vulnerability of places like Ash Meadows,” said Voehl.
“And so that triggered a huge upwelling from the local communities who really stood toe-to-toe with conservation organizations like ours against that project and ultimately were successful,” Voehl said.
Voehl’s nonprofit works on the Amargosa River, which runs mostly underground with springs in Ash Meadows. He said in 2024, a mining proposal for the mineral zeolite used in kitty litter failed.
Earlier this month, the town board of Amargosa Valley also rejected a proposal 5-0 to prevent a proposed solar farm from being built nearby.
“It’s hard to overstate how incredible that is for a rural Nevada town to really call for a conservation action like that on its own accord,” Voehl said.
“One of the mantras of the last few years has been no new ghost towns in Nye County. That is really the fear from these communities,” he said.
The Amargosa Valley town board also unanimously passed a resolution calling on Congress to designate a national conservation area surrounding Ash Meadows for the benefit of that rare desert ecosystem and of their own water security.
Last Tuesday, the organization American Rivers came out with its list of 10 most endangered rivers in America. The Amargosa made the list this year.
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