The Amargosa River Defies the Desert
The Amargosa River Defies the Desert
“These are true oases.”
The Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Amargosa River system, hosts more endemic species — those found nowhere else
— than any other place in the United States, surpassed by only one other location in North America, a desert oasis in Mexico.
The legendary Devil’s Hole pupfish is the world’s rarest fish species and one of the first species in the United States to be listed as endangered.
But the greatest threat of groundwater pumping is to several species of inch-long pupfish, tiny iridescent blue fish so named
because they seem to play with one another like frisky puppies.
Last year, three residents allegedly broke through the fence
that guards Devil’s Hole and sprayed gunfire, took off their clothes to soak in the hot water, threw up in the pool, and left a pair of boxer shorts in this critical fish habitat.
The average temperature in the Mojave has increased some 3 degrees in recent years,
and warming of another degree or so could prevent the Devil’s Hole pupfish, which already has poor reproductive capabilities, from propagating at all.
But the federal and private protections are useless against the biggest threat of all: the pumping of groundwater from the giant underground aquifer
that feeds the Amargosa, which eventually may throttle the river and the delicate ecosystems it supports.
Many of the region’s most stunning features — deep turquoise springs, warm pools, hanging gardens
— are protected in Ash Meadows, where 11,000 gallons of water pour into desert pools each minute.
“These are true oases.”
The Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Amargosa River system, hosts more endemic species — those found nowhere else
— than any other place in the United States, surpassed by only one other location in North America, a desert oasis in Mexico.
The legendary Devil’s Hole pupfish is the world’s rarest fish species and one of the first species in the United States to be listed as endangered.
But the greatest threat of groundwater pumping is to several species of inch-long pupfish, tiny iridescent blue fish so named
because they seem to play with one another like frisky puppies.
Last year, three residents allegedly broke through the fence
that guards Devil’s Hole and sprayed gunfire, took off their clothes to soak in the hot water, threw up in the pool, and left a pair of boxer shorts in this critical fish habitat.
The average temperature in the Mojave has increased some 3 degrees in recent years,
and warming of another degree or so could prevent the Devil’s Hole pupfish, which already has poor reproductive capabilities, from propagating at all.
But the federal and private protections are useless against the biggest threat of all: the pumping of groundwater from the giant underground aquifer
that feeds the Amargosa, which eventually may throttle the river and the delicate ecosystems it supports.
Many of the region’s most stunning features — deep turquoise springs, warm pools, hanging gardens
— are protected in Ash Meadows, where 11,000 gallons of water pour into desert pools each minute.