The Walker Basin Restoration Program was established by Public Law 111-85 in October 2009 for the primary purpose of restoring and maintaining Walker Lake, a natural desert lake in Nevada. Walker Lake is at the terminus of the Walker River stream system of Nevada-California. The Lake elevation has been steadily declining since the early 1900s, resulting in a steady increase in the salinity or Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of the Lake. The Walker Basin Restoration Program includes a water acquisition program with willing sellers; a three-year demonstration water leasing program to be developed and administered by the Walker River Irrigation District (WRID); related research, program evaluation, and decision support activities at the University of Nevada-Reno and the Desert Research Institute; and an associated conservation and stewardship program that will include both directed measures and Request for Proposals for water conservation projects. The Program is directed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
By early 2011 some $35 million had already been expended to acquire land and water by NFWF. This presentation starts with a summary of efforts by NFWF in the Walker to date. It then sets the Walker water acquisition program in the context of prior efforts to acquire water for ecosystem restoration, comparing and contrasting the challenges faced in the Walker with those found in other such programs highlighting the new challenges encountered. Lessons learned so far in the program are then provided – both with respect to the mechanics of undertaking large scale water acquisitions and the broader effort to engage the community in environmental stewardship, water conservation, land revegetation and sustainable agriculture.
