Nevada wildlife habitat to benefit from big snowpack, officials say

RENO -- Wildlife habitat in the nation's most arid state will gain a major boost from one of the deepest Sierra snowpacks in 60 years, biologists said.

Wetlands at the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge near Fallon, about 60 miles east of Reno, are expected to increase in size from an annual average of 8,000 acres to as much as 12,000 acres because of high runoff, said Carl Lunderstadt, the refuge's deputy chief.

The Stillwater marshes are home to roughly 290 bird species and are a stop on the Pacific Flyway for more than a quarter million waterfowl annually. The refuge largely depends on water from Lahontan Reservoir on the Carson River.

Marshes at the nearby state-run Carson Lake and Pasture will be teaming with more water and birds than usual this year because of the runoff, said Kyle Neill, a biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The refuge has enough water rights to reach its peak of about 9,000 acres of marshes in the fall, but it can run dry in the summer before then with only 1,000 acres of wetlands, he said.

"We'll probably be able to maintain about 4,000 acres through July and August this year," Neill said.

High runoff from the Truckee and Walker rivers will help raise the levels of Pyramid and Walker lakes and boost their fisheries, said Lisa Heki of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Reno.

The snowpack will give Walker Lake an infusion of fresh water for its threatened fishery, she added. The lake's increasing salinity because of its declining water level is hurting its Lahontan cutthroat trout and tui chub.