Jeannie Stafford

Fish and Wildlife Service offices in Nevada are teaming up with state and federal partners to restore and improve habitat for the Dixie Valley tui chub on three ponds in Dixie Valley about 40 miles northeast of Fallon, Nevada.

Restoration of the ponds began in April 2008, with the majority of the work focused on Turley Pond, currently the only pond in the area with a population of Dixie Valley tui chub.  Biologists believe that removing cattails to create open water and removing non-native species such as bullfrogs and mosquitofish will create conditions favorable to tui chub reproduction. Once the tui chub numbers increase they will be moved to nearby Casey and Dempsey ponds which they previously inhabited.  Additional restoration will include noxious weed removal (e.g., tamarisk, Russian knapweed, and Russian olive), bank erosion repairs, pond excavation, removal of dominant emergent vegetation, and fencing repairs.

Partners in the project include the Service’s Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office and Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada Department of Wildlife, U. S. Geological Survey and the Nevada Natural Heritage Program

The efforts are underway as part of Fallon Naval Air Station's 2006 Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan.