FEDERATION OF WESTERN OUTDOOR CLUBS

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SAVE WALKER LAKE, NEVADA'S INTERNATIONAL TREASURE

Since the most recent Ice Age, Nevada's Walker Lake, one of six fresh water terminus lakes in the world, has supported a unique web of life.  Now, because of water diversions, the for agriculture have also increased the salinity of the lake.  The salinity level has reached the point where the tui chub may not reproduce and the Lahontan Cutthroat trout, and the thousands of migratory birds which depend on this food source, will no longer come to the lake.  In the past two years, no water has reached the Lake from the Walker River, which has its headwaters in the High Sierra of California.  An intensive campaign is underway to ask the Governors of Nevada and California to ensure that an emergency allocation of fresh water be provided to the lake in this crisis.

An informal coalition of organizations and individuals has been formed to address the long-term problem of water for Walker Lake so that the fish will continue to survive and the birds will continue to migrate to this oasis in the desert.  An environmental impact statement is being prepared on Walker Lake and the Walker River by the Bureau of Land Management.  Senator Harry Reid of Nevada convened a summit in April to address the problems of the Lake and to ask for possible solutions.

The Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs supports the immediate emergency fresh water allocation to Walker Lake and the long-term effort to ensure that the lake has sufficient water to maintain its ecosystems.

Contact: Governor Kenny Guinn of Nevada (101 N. Carson St., Suite 1, Carson City, Nevada 89701) and Governor Gray Davis (1303 10th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814) of California to ask for this emergency water to be provided immediately.