Washingtonia filifera Warm Springs, Nevada

The Warm Springs Natural Area, also known as the Warm Springs Ranch, is located near the

Moapa Indian Reservation The Moapa Band of Paiute Indians of the Moapa River Indian Reservation are a federally recognized tribe of Southern Paiute, who live in southern Nevada on the Moapa River Indian Reservation. They were in the past called the Muappa / Moapat and ...

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acros ...

, at an elevation of . The area is owned by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). The area is a natural

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

. The oasis is fed by close to 24 natural warm springs and contains many naturally occurring California fan palms ('' Washingtonia filifera''), creating an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

normally limited to the "low"

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado D ...

and so unique to the "high"

. The springs are the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

for the Muddy River. The area is popular for

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family resi ...

and

recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleas ...

uses. There are year-round residents that own private property with homes. There are

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

areas for

recreational vehicles A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...

and a private, multi-use, recreation area owned by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church).

History

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...

purchased the

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

in 1968. The LDS church acquired much of the Ranch in 1978 and attempted to continue its use as an operating ranch. When they were unsuccessful in ranching including cattle grazing, the LDS church sold most of the land, keeping operated as the Warm Springs Recreational Ranch. A public swimming facility separate from the Hughes ranch and the LDS facility was also developed in the area. The 100 acre Desert Oasis Warm Springs was a popular summer destination for many Las Vegas residents in the 1970s and 1980s. The Southern Nevada Water Authority acquired large portions of the old ranch property in 2007 with the intention to protect the headwaters of the Muddy River and the habitat of the endangered Moapa dace. On July 1, 2010, an accidental fire swept through the overgrown palm trees, burning much of the area and destroying many buildings including the original ranch house at the LDS Warm Springs ranch. The LDS facility was rebuilt and opened for use of members of the LDS church in June 2017. The 1,220 acres acquired by the Southern Nevada Water Authority is now known as the Warm Springs Natural Area and has been developed into a nature conservancy and publicly accessible nature area with trails and exhibits.

Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge

The

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

established the

Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge The Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge (MVNWR) is a protected wildlife refuge administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located in the Warm Springs Natural Area in the Moapa Valley of Clark County, Nevada. The refuge is east of Death ...

area of Warm Springs as a

wildlife preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

to protect the

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

Moapa dace The moapa dace (''Moapa coriacea'') is a rare cyprinid fish of southern Nevada, United States, found only in the upper parts of the Muddy (formerly Moapa) River, and in the warm springs that give rise to the river. It is the only species of t ...

, a critically endangered species of

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Muddy River. The Moapa dace have declined in population due to habitat destruction and

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

of non-native fish. This unique small area of , and the fish, have many stakeholders in their ongoing preservation.

References

External links

"The Palms of Moapa"

Integrated Science Assessment for the Upper Muddy River, Clark County, Nevada
{Dead link, date=May 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Geography of Clark County, Nevada Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex Populated places in the Mojave Desert Oases of Nevada Bodies of water of Clark County, Nevada