| Snake Valley | |
|---|---|
 Sheep grazing in southern Snake Valley | |
  Snake Valley  Snake Valley | |
| Long-axis direction | North-South |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 39°51′00″N113°45′03″W / 39.85000°N 113.75083°W /39.85000; -113.75083 |
Snake Valley is a north-south trending valley that straddles theNevada–Utah border in the centralGreat Basin. It is bound by theSnake Range and theDeep Creek Mountains to the west and theConfusion Range to the east. The valley is the gateway toGreat Basin National Park andLehman Caves, which are located in the western part of the valley and on the southern Snake Range.
Though it is relatively isolated fromcivilization today, the human presence in Snake Valley goes back 12,000 years.[1] The oldest accessible evidence of this is theBaker Archeological Site,[2] aFremont culture habitat maintained by theBLM.
Current communities in the valley includeBaker in Nevada andGarrison,Burbank,Eskdale,Callao,Partoun,Trout Creek,Gandy, andBorder in Utah. Today, the main industries in the valley are farming and ranching, especially sheep ranching.
Snake Valley is noted for awater project involving theLas Vegas Valley,[3] that would target the underlyingBasin and Range Carbonate Aquifer, anaquifer 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 theGreat Basin Desert, the (relatively) high ranges like theSnake Range,Deep Creek Mountains, and theSchell Creek Range allow a large snowpack that recharges the regional aquifer.[4] 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 inBurbank, Utah) in continual operation since the 1880s.
The water development project is proposed by theSouthern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), the water authority that services the Las Vegas area. In the proposal, a pipeline would be built from Snake Valley (andSpring Valley) to supply pumpedgroundwater to be used as municipal water for theClark County, Nevada region, with amounts ranging up to 137,000acre-feet (169,000,000 m3) per year.[5] Local ranchers and environmentalists have objected to this removal of water from local aquifers,[6] comparing the situation toOwens Valley, California and noting local drawdowns and springs drying up allegedly, but indeterminably, from local agricultural pumping, like at Needle Point Springs.[7] Enhanced demand on the water from locals and enhanced hydrogeologic monitoring have occurred as a result of this proposal, including theUSGS's BARCASS study[8] and the Utah Geological Survey's Snake Valley Groundwater Monitoring Program.[9] 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 atFish 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 ManagerPatricia Mulroy.[10] Mulroy has continuously claimed that this water source must be tapped to keep Las Vegas running. Others agree, and have usedNew York City as an example of proper water management. New York has relied on water from theCatskills andHudson 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.
