Ash Meadows map. (USFWS)

by Erica Szlosek, External Affairs

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is a true desert oasis located about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in the Amargosa Valley. The refuge features 22,000 acres of spring-fed wetlands and provides habitat for as many as 24 species of plants and animals that occur nowhere else in the world. In fact, four fish (Devil's hole pupfish, Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish, Warm Springs pupfish, and Ash Meadows speckled dace) and a plant (Amargosa niterwort) are currently listed as endangered and eight other species are listed as threatened.

Lower Crystal Marsh is located in the southwest corner of the Wildlife Refuge and is an enhanced wetland lying south and west of Crystal Reservoir within the Wildlife Refuge. In the fall, staff started moving water back into the marsh after drawing it down in the summer in order to remove invasive cattail. A local contractor is using a type of hydro-ax, to cut up portions of the cattail mass to create a better mix of open water and wetland habitat with sufficient plant cover for waterfowl, which use the marsh throughout the migration and winter season.

The water will be moved into the Lower Crystal Marsh fairly quickly but hunters should expect to wait until the end of October to find waterfowl in larger numbers. Other hunting areas on the Wildlife Refuge include the southern portion of Crystal Reservoir and all of Horseshoe Marsh and Peterson Reservoir. 

More information about hunt regulations for Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is available at the Refuge office and visitor center at (775) 372-5435.