Mission Statement Walker Lake Fact Sheet Water Issues Walker Lake History Hawthorne, NV Info In America's past, water seemed abundant and nature forgiving. The plight of Walker Lake is an important example of how we cannot rely on water policies that ignore the balance of human and natural needs. Traditional economic uses can become the dominant force in managing water. All too often other concerns - and ecosystems - are ignored. Caught in this blueprint is Walker Lake. It has much in common with its fellow ancient Lahontan Sea survivor, Pyramid Lake: upstream water diversions from its river source and periodic droughts. Walker Lake has dropped 130 feet since the turn of century because of upstream diversions for agriculture and numerous years of drought. In 1994 the Lake came within a year of losing its fish because the water had become too saline thanks to six consecutive years of no natural inflows. Located in central western Nevada, the lake is home to native trout and a critical stopover for many migrating waterfowl, including more than 1,400 common loons - the largest congregation west of the Mississippi. The Walker Lake Working Group is trying to change this blueprint by raising awareness and building a constituency for this rare watershed resource. The group believes it is poor public policy to allow a unique desert ecosystem to collapse as a result of human-caused activities. Walker Lake Working Group wants to build the Lake's value beyond the right to divert water by focusing on three issues: The reestablishment of spawning runs of the Lahontan cutthroat trout Sufficient waters so that salt levels are low enough to allow natural growth of the fish Acquiring water rights for environmental and recreational purposes Source: Water Resources in the Walker River Basin: A Search for Water to Save Walker Lake; Prepared by Public Resource Associates; November 1994