Groundwater Pumping around Pahrump impacts Amargosa Canyon speckled dace

The Center for Biological Diversity recently petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect three populations of speckled dace in the Death Valley region under the Endangered Species Act.

These small, minnow-like fish live in freshwater streams and springs in the desert and dry environments of Amargosa Canyon, Long Valley and Owens Valley, California.

Rapid residential development in Pahrump, Nevada and agricultural operations in the Amargosa Valley, Nevada have fueled groundwater pumping in excess of annual basin recharge rates. The Center for Biological Diversity contends that human water use reduces surface flow in the Amargosa River and degrades Amargosa Canyon speckled dace habitat.

On this edition of the Wild Hare, we chat with Patrick Donnelly, Nevada state director, Center for Biological Diversity about the recent petition and the dace as it exists in locations across the Great Basin.

See music credits below the map.

Use this interactive map to follow the tenuous course of the Amargosa River. The blue arrow marks the riverbed and Amargosa Canyon.