A conservation group dedicated to restoring a northern Nevada lake to healthy levels is one step closer to its goal. The Walker Basin Conservancy recently purchased a two-mile stretch of the West Walker River.
It will send even more water downstream.
The 320-acre property in Smith Valley, about 90 miles southeast of Reno, comes with surface water rights and more than 630-acre feet of storage water rights.
The group bought the property using part of its roughly $15 million trust from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Peter Stanton, the organization’s executive director, said the acquisition puts the group one step closer to its goal of returning trout and other fish to the lake.
“We're working to ensure that no matter what the hydrologic conditions are, no matter how much snow we're getting in a given year, the Walker River is still flowing as it did prior to diversions and remaining connected to Walker Lake, regardless of how much snow we have," he said.
Walker Lake has long suffered from dwindling surface levels due largely to water being diverted for agricultural use.
Stanton said water levels need to rise at least 25 feet for life to return to Walker Lake.
