Improving the Walker Basin’s
Under the Desert Terminal Lakes Program (DTLP) the
Service has received funding to address ways to improve
river function and remove invasive weeds that threaten
the natural balance and biological diversity of the
river and its flood plain.
The Service initiated a report on the historical and
current conditions of the river to help prioritize restoration
activities and funding of projects.
of Mason Valley & Smith
Valley Conservation Districts
The report provides a general overview of the watershed
followed by a focused description of the river channel
and river processes. It presents important baseline
information from which a monitoring program will be
The objectives of the study are to assess the physical
and biological environment of the Walker River, characterizing
historic and current conditions. The information is
being used to identify opportunities that will restore
river function and habitat.
For this study, aerial photos of the basin
dating back to 1938 were compared to more recent ones
to determine how the river channel has changed over
the decades. Scientists used aerial imagery to develop
a digital map of the channel to understand how floods,
drought and diversions have altered the river channel.
Photo courtesy of OBEC, 2007
We will update this site with highlights from the
basin report of how the river and basin have changed
over the years and how those changes have affected the
Click here for the report done by UNR’s
Desert Research Institute on the Walker
River Basin external link