Snake Valley (Great Basin)

Though it is relatively isolated from civilization today, the human presence in Snake Valley goes back 12,000 years.{{cite web|url=http://protectsnakevalley.com/history.html|title=Protect Snake Valley - History|website=protectsnakevalley.com}} The oldest accessible evidence of this is the Baker Archeological Site,{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/grba/historyculture/baker-archeological-site.htm |title=Baker Archeological Site - Great Basin National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |publisher=Nps.gov |date= |accessdate=2014-06-17}} a Fremont culture habitat maintained by the BLM.

Current communities in the valley include Baker in Nevada and Garrison, Burbank, Eskdale, Callao, Partoun, Trout Creek, Gandy, and Border in Utah. Today, the main industries in the valley are farming and ranching, especially sheep ranching.

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Snake Valley is noted for a water project involving the Las Vegas Valley,[http://www.awwa.org/Publications/StreamlinesArticle.cfm?ItemNumber=50521 Utah, Nevada agree to split the aquifer, American Water Works Association, Streamlines, September 1, 2009 Volume 1, Number 18] that would target the underlying Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer, an aquifer that supplies local agriculture and is a relatively large source of water for this region. Though Snake Valley and the surrounding area is arid and part of the Great Basin Desert, the (relatively) high ranges like the Snake Range, Deep Creek Mountains, and the Schell Creek Range allow a large snowpack that recharges the regional aquifer.{{cite web|url=http://www.usee.org/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=60&year=2010&month=03&day=30&Itemid=88|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728150117/http://www.usee.org/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=60&year=2010&month=03&day=30&Itemid=88|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 July 2011|title=USEE :: Utah Society for Environmental Education - Groundwater in Snake Valley, Nevada, Utah|date=28 July 2011|publisher=}} This 'additional' water manifests itself in the many springs, wetlands, and lakes that make Snake Valley surprisingly lush. Thus, Snake Valley has long been a target of wildlife and farmers, with at least one farm (Dearden Ranch in Burbank, Utah) in continual operation since the 1880s.

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The water development project is proposed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), the water authority that services the Las Vegas area. In the proposal, a pipeline would be built from Snake Valley (and Spring Valley) to supply pumped groundwater to be used as municipal water for the Clark County, Nevada region, with amounts ranging up to {{convert|137000|acre.ft|lk=in}} per year.{{cite web|url=http://www.snwa.com/assets/pdf/wr_plan.pdf |title=SNWA Water Resource Plan |date= |accessdate=2014-06-17}} Local ranchers and environmentalists have objected to this removal of water from local aquifers,{{cite web|url=http://protectsnakevalley.com/water.html |title=Water |publisher=Protectsnakevalley.com |date= |accessdate=2014-06-17}} comparing the situation to Owens Valley, California and noting local drawdowns and springs drying up allegedly, but indeterminably, from local agricultural pumping, like at Needle Point Springs.{{cite web |url=http://water.nv.gov/hearings/spring%20valley%20hearings/USNPS/Exhibit%232502/Report/Attachments/VanLiew-Attachment4/Summers.pdf |title=Library of Congress Web Archives |language=en |access-date=30 June 2023 |archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090613160648/http://water.nv.gov/hearings/spring%20valley%20hearings/USNPS/Exhibit%232503/ |archivedate=June 13, 2009 }} Enhanced demand on the water from locals and enhanced hydrogeologic monitoring have occurred as a result of this proposal, including the USGS's BARCASS study[http://nevada.usgs.gov/barcass/pubs.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814045912/http://nevada.usgs.gov/barcass/pubs.htm|date=August 14, 2009}} and the Utah Geological Survey's Snake Valley Groundwater Monitoring Program.{{cite web |author=State of Utah |url=http://geology.utah.gov/esp/snake_valley_project/index.htm |title=Snake Valley Ground-Water Monitoring-Well Project - Utah Geological Survey |publisher=Geology.utah.gov |accessdate=2014-06-17 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103111638/http://geology.utah.gov/esp/snake_valley_project/index.htm |archivedate=2010-11-03 }} Both studies have generally concluded that precipitation in the high mountains of the area are the source of the far away but anomalously large springs at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge.

Others support the system, noting the importance of the growth and sustainability of the Las Vegas Valley. The largest advocate for the pipeline has been SNWA General Manager Patricia Mulroy.{{cite web|author=Richard Rychtarik |url=http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/aug/01/pat-mulroy/ |title=Meet Pat Mulroy, Southern Nevada's water champion |publisher=Vegas Inc |date= August 2011|accessdate=2014-06-17}} Mulroy has continuously claimed that this water source must be tapped to keep Las Vegas running. Others agree, and have used New York City as an example of proper water management. New York has relied on water from the Catskills and Hudson Valley region for more than a century, and due to proper management, these ecosystems continue to flourish, despite the allocation of the water in the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

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{{commons category|Snake Valley (Great Basin)}}

• [http://protectsnakevalley.com/blog.html Protect Snake Valley Blog]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10953190 An NPR story on water issues in Snake Valley and Las Vegas]

Category:Valleys of Utah

Category:Valleys of Nevada

Category:Landforms of Juab County, Utah

Category:Valleys of Millard County, Utah

Category:Valleys of White Pine County, Nevada

Category:Valleys of the Great Basin