Habitat restoration at Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge and Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge: Ecological restoration, species recovery, and public use

Habitat restoration efforts at Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge (MVNWR) and Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) are underway. The MVNWR contains the only federally protected habitat for the endangered Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea). The outflow channel of Jackrabbit Spring at AMNWR contains the largest remaining population of the endangered Ash Meadows speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus nevadensis). The history of habitat disturbance at each location is different but impacts to habitat and native species are similar. Prior to refuge establishment, thermal springs at MVNWR were modified for recreational bathing and swimming. A series of water storage impoundments were constructed along a portion of the Jackrabbit Spring outflow channel at AMNWR. The historical modifications at both locations facilitated colonization by invasive species including tamarisk, cattail, crayfish, and other non-native fish species. Although restoration objectives for each project were similar, the approach and type of habitat restoration completed at each refuge was distinct. At MVNWR, public facilities and a viewing chamber, designed to promote public awareness of native species, were constructed and stream channels were designed and reconstructed based on habitat requirements of the Moapa dace. At AMNWR, water storage impoundments were removed, the stream channel was reconstructed, and uplands were recontoured in order to promote the recovery of physical and biological conditions prior to historical landscape modification. This presentation will compare restoration efforts within two refuges and will focus on the methods and results of habitat restoration at sites with dissimilar histories of disturbance.