| Beatty Habitat Committee |
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"Initially, I was against the Amargosa toad," says J.R. Schultz, chairman of the Beatty Habitat Committee. "The more meetings I went to, I got to thinking it would be nice to preserve all this habitat the toad uses. It's an oasis in the middle of the desert." Location: Beatty, Nevada Objective: The Beatty Habitat Committee (BHC) is developing the Beatty Habitat Trails Project, a greenbelt through Beatty along the Amargosa River in Oasis Valley in southwestern Nevada. The project is meant to enhance tourism in Beatty and protect the Amargosa toad, which was the subject of a petition seeking endangered-species status. Other native plants and animals also will benefit from habitat restoration under the plan. Participants: BHC is comprised of seven residents from Beatty or Nye County. Dr. James Marble, director of the Nye County Natural Resources Office, serves as an advisor. BHC is supported by the Beatty Town Advisory Board, Beatty Chamber of Commerce and Nye County Commission. Other partners include The Nature Conservancy, Amargosa Toad Working Group, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Friends of the Amargosa Toad, Nevada Natural Heritage Program, and National Park Service. History: In the hurly-burly westward migration spawned by the Gold Rush, Beatty was founded in 1904 after gold-laced rock was discovered in the nearby Bullfrog Mining District. At the eastern gateway to Death Valley National Park, the town offers a reprieve from the harsh desert terrain because the Amargosa River runs through it. The 125-mile-long ephemeral river often dries up on the surface, but for long stretches it dives underground, surfacing as springs, seeps, and wetlands that support wildlife and dozens of species of native and migrating birds. The Nevada Audubon Society lists 23 species of concern that depend upon habitat in the Oasis Valley. The Amargosa toad is found only in Oasis Valley along a 12-mile stretch of the Amargosa River extending through Beatty.
In 1994, the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, based in Boulder, Colo., petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to list the Amargosa toad as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Jim Moore, Oasis Valley project manager for The Nature Conservancy, says that in Beatty, this was viewed as "pouring gasoline on a flame" because Nye County already had become the epicenter of a war in the West demanding local control over federal lands. Before the petition was filed, on July 4, 1994, then-Nye County Commissioner Dick Carver waved a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution from atop a bulldozer he had used to forcibly reopen a closed U.S. Forest Service road—a feat which landed him on the cover of Time magazine in October 1995 for an article titled "Don't Tread on Me." For five years, efforts at preserving the Amargosa toad's habitat were unsuccessful. Both The Nature Conservancy and the Amargosa Toad Working Group, a group of scientists researching the toad and its habitat, opposed an endangered listing because of a feared backlash from the local community and because a scientific toad population survey hadn't been completed. In 1995, the Beatty Beautification Subcommittee attempted to create a greenbelt plan, but it failed because of stonewalling by some local officials and unfounded rumors that private property would be condemned within the greenbelt area, Moore says. After Beatty's main employer, the Bullfrog Gold Mine, closed in 2000, the town's population dropped from approximately 3,000 to 1,000 residents. That same year, Dr. James Marble proposed the creation of the Beatty Habitat and Trails Project, a greenbelt meant to protect the Amargosa toad and promote eco-tourism as a desperately needed new local industry. At its Web site at www.beattynevada.org, the Beatty Chamber of Commerce already promotes Beatty as a destination for tourists headed to nearby Death Valley National Park, offering eco-tourism activities such as hiking and birdwatching. Marble says of his proposal, "There was a lot of resistance initially. There were certain people in town who resented being forced to do something for the toad. I had to show them this was something that was going to be beneficial to the community." Accomplishments: In 2003, BHC hosted a three-day workshop where landscape architects and urban planners designed the Beatty Habitat and Trails Project, which is now being implemented. A local quarry is placing decorative rock slabs along a developing recreational trail system, and many private landowners have cleaned up their properties within the greenbelt. BHC member Renie Younghans is leading an effort to remove salt cedar, a water-sucking, non-native invasive species, from hundreds of acres bordering the Amargosa River. "It's very, very time-consuming," says Younghans, a retiree who has served on the BHC since 2000. "I spend probably 20 or 30 hours a week doing it, and I don't get paid."
The local conservation efforts have succeeded at avoiding an endangered-species listing for the Amargosa toad by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Since 1998, the Nevada Department of Wildlife has tagged and released more than 4,800 Amargosa toads in Oasis Valley. The 2004 survey estimated the valleywide population at almost 2,000 adult toads. The Nature Conservancy purchased the 130-acre Torrance Ranch in 1999 and the 525-acre Parker Ranch in 2000 to show its local commitment to Oasis Valley. The ranches offer demonstration projects on restoring Amargosa toad habitat. The natural flow of springs has been restored, and non-native species threatening the toads, including bullfrogs and crayfish, are being killed. BHC has initiated additional projects in the greenbelt area, including restoration of a fishing pond and a series of park restoration projects. BHC has petitioned the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to lease approximately 5,800 acres of federal land within the greenbelt in Oasis Valley instead of designating it an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which many locals oppose because of the increased level of federal control. The greenbelt plan would call for the development of recreational trails, the building of information kiosks, and the protection of sensitive species, including the Amargosa toad, under a Recreation and Public Purposes lease. Challenges/constraints: Funding has been a challenge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed to provide up to $5 million for habitat restoration under the planned lease of land from BLM, but the funding was redirected to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Moore says. In 2005, BLM announced it was planning to sell more than 5,000 acres of land in the same area as the proposed lease. Local developer Ed Ringle sought the sale so he could increase his holdings in the Beatty area, part of a recent development boom. "At the request of one developer, BLM did a complete 180," Moore says. "One person is holding more sway than the entire town."
The Beatty Town Advisory Board is preparing a master plan to help control burgeoning development in Oasis Valley. Critical habitat areas for the Amargosa toad and at least 40 other species need to be designated as open space on the master plan, Harlan says. A shortage of water needed to support more houses and businesses also must be considered. Other challenges include continued political support for the greenbelt plan, both locally and at the state and federal levels. Moore says the evolving project illustrates the need for "a long-term view of how you define success." "Small rural communities don't turn around overnight, and they are not going to respond to the high-pressure sales pitch," Moore says. "Don't try to push your ideals and time frame on them because it's not going to work. It has to be crafted locally and have a local stamp of approval." For more information see: Endangered Species Bulletin "Making Room for the Amargosa Toad" Pahrump Valley Times article
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 May 2008 ) | |||||||
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