Lawsuit Inc. strikes again

With the dawn, cackling come the crows and the lawyers

EDITORIAL
Las Vegas Review-Journal

It's too early for the crow or even the mockingbird to put in an appearance, but mourning doves greet the gray first light as a family of Gambel's quail stirs in the ground cover. The eastern sky shows faint yellow and pink as, down near the mission, the homeless guys emerge from their bedrolls -- men who once made a decent living in the construction trades, back when Nevada was still a "can-do" kind of state.

Over at the courthouse, the first environmental attorneys show up with their carry-out coffee cups, just ahead of the crows, waiting for the windows to open so they can file their latest actions, banning any further attempts at human progress in Southern Nevada. First in line today are the grim reapers of the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, suing agents of the federal government for allowing plans to proceed for the development of homes and a golf course at Coyote Springs, in northeastern Clark County.

The federal agencies should never have allowed owners of the property to make plans to use their own water rights by digging wells on their own lands, the lawyers will argue in court, because such "groundwater withdrawals" could destroy habitat crucial to the Mojave Desert tortoise and the Moapa dace, a finger-length minnow found only in the headwaters of the Muddy River, 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

And the aggressors can't lose -- that's the beauty of it.

Oh, this lawsuit may be tossed, eventually. But by then there will be scores of others. And the smug and spike-haired plaintiffs will still be reimbursed for their time and trouble, paid off with tax dollars by the very agencies they're suing.

No federal judge has ever ruled, "You're wrong; the minnows won't be harmed; furthermore, I find no evidence that you really care one whit about these minnows -- you never visit or feed them -- that instead you've brought this action for no purpose other than causing expense and inconvenience to others, and therefore I'm charging you with all court costs and defendants' attorney fees -- personally."

As predictable as the sunrise itself, another morning, and another progress-destroying shakedown lawsuit have come to Nevada.

"It is our contention that they are putting the Moapa dace at greater risk of extinction," explains Rob Mrowka, who once worked for Clark County but is now billed as "Nevada conservation advocate" for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The federally protected desert tortoise also faces habitat loss in Clark and Lincoln counties as a result of large-scale groundwater pumping and the residential development it would sustain, Mr. Mrowka argues.

The group on Tuesday sent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management 60-day notice of its intent to sue. Such notice is required for lawsuits brought under the Endangered Species Act.

As part of its multibillion-dollar plan to pipe groundwater to Las Vegas from as far as 250 miles away in White Pine County, the Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to tap water beneath the Coyote Springs Valley and in the Muddy River.

Separate from that effort is the 43,000-acre Coyote Springs development along U.S. Highway 93, about 55 miles north of Las Vegas.

At the moment, the development includes only a few basic roads and a golf course that opened last spring. Eventually, though, developer Harvey Whittemore hopes to turn his property straddling the line between Clark and Lincoln counties into Nevada's newest city, complete with several hotel-casinos and as many as 160,000 homes.

Build-out is expected to take decades, but home construction could begin in 2010.

When the Center for Biological Diversity files its lawsuit 60 days from now, it will seek an injunction to halt groundwater development in the area until the case can be argued, Mr. Mrowka says.

Anyone hoping to build anything useful to mankind knows that such lawsuits have become inevitable -- almost as though the green extreme can't imagine how anything beneficial to the human species could possibly take place without irrevocably harming "nature," in some way.

So far, the Center for Biological Diversity has not sued any of our local maternity wards, arguing that by allowing more human beings to be brought onto the planet, they "put the Moapa dace at greater risk of extinction."

But give them time. All great extremist movements have to start somewhere.

Conservation group plans to sue feds over Nevada water project

Coyote Springs called habitat threat to tortoise, small fish

By HENRY BREAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL


An endangered Moapa dace swims in a spring-fed stream on the Moapa National Wildlife Refuge, 60 miles north of Las Vegas. Between the refuge and nearby property recently acquired by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the dace's entire natural habitat is now in the hands of groups committed to its protection. Photo by John Locher

A national conservation group has announced plans to sue the federal government for failing to protect endangered fish and desert tortoises that could be harmed by groundwater development plans in northern Clark County.

The lawsuit promised by the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity targets the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management over agreements those agencies struck with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the developers of Coyote Springs.

Officials for the environmental group insist groundwater withdrawals by the Coyote Springs development and the water authority could destroy crucial habitat for the endangered Moapa dace, a finger-length fish only found at the headwaters of the Muddy River, 60 miles north of Las Vegas.

“It is our contention that they are putting the Moapa Dace at greater risk of extinction,” said Rob Mrowska, Nevada conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The federally protected desert tortoise also faces habitat loss in Clark and Lincoln counties as a result of large-scale groundwater pumping and the residential development it would sustain, Mrowska said.

The environmental group today sent the two federal agencies a 60-day notice of its intent to sue. Such notice is required for lawsuits brought under the Endangered Species Act.

This is the center’s first lawsuit taking aim at the water authority’s plans to tap groundwater across eastern Nevada, but Mrowska hinted it might not be the last.

“This is possibly a precedent-setting action,” he said.

Kirsten Cannon, spokeswoman for the BLM in Southern Nevada, said the agency had not received the center’s notice of intent as of this afternoon. She declined further comment.

Bob Williams, state supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service, declined to address the specifics of the center’s claims, but he said he stands by his agency’s efforts to protect the Moapa dace and desert tortoise.

“I take issue that our opinions were not based on the best science available,” Williams said.

Water authority spokesman J.C. Davis defended the work being done to protect the Moapa dace — efforts he said are only occurring because of that soon-to-be-challenged agreement among the authority, federal agencies and others.

“While we welcome constructive input from those interested in protecting and recovering the Moapa dace, it would be a shame to see all of this good work jeopardized by a misguided lawsuit,” Davis said.

As part of its multibillion-dollar plan to pipe groundwater to Las Vegas from as far as 250 miles away in White Pine County, the water authority wants to tap water beneath the Coyote Springs Valley and in the Muddy River.

Separate from that effort is the 43,000-acre Coyote Springs development along U.S. Highway 93 about 55 miles north of Las Vegas.

At the moment, the development includes only a few basic roads and a golf course that opened last spring. Eventually, though, developer Harvey Whittemore hopes to turn his property straddling the line between Clark and Lincoln counties into Nevada’s newest city, complete with several hotel-casinos and as many as 160,000 homes.

Build-out is expected to take decades, but the first home lots are scheduled to go on sale at the end of next year. Home construction could begin in 2010.

When the Center for Biological Diversity files its lawsuit 60 days from now, it will seek an injunction to halt groundwater development in the area until the case can be argued, Mrowka said.

New owners safeguarding Moapa dace

Fish at home at Warm Springs Ranch

By HENRY BREAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL

MOAPA -- A finger-length fish with a black spot in the middle of its tail darts among sunlit bubbles in the spring-fed current of a small stream.

He doesn't know it, but this endangered little guy has some powerful friends.

Between the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nearly every inch of the Moapa dace's natural habitat is now in the hands of people dedicated to keeping the fish alive.

The water authority holds the largest piece, a roughly 2,000-acre tract dotted with natural springs and imported palm trees that researchers believe is home to about 90 percent of all the dace on Earth.

The authority took control of the property known as Warm Springs Ranch, 60 miles north of Las Vegas, in September. The name has since been changed to Warm Springs Natural Area to reflect its new role as a haven for dace and other sensitive species.

Prehistoric water from the deep carbonate aquifer bubbles to the surface at dozens of locations on the property, creating small streams that come together to form the Muddy River.

The Moapa dace spawns in the warm spring pools and makes its home in the streams and upper reaches of the river's main stem. The dace's entire habitat is confined to an area just a few miles long, so even a minor threat could prove fatal to the species.

The authority eventually plans to develop a comprehensive management plan for the Warm Springs Natural Area. First, though, officials must take stock of their new property.

Janet Monaco, who heads the authority's Muddy and Virgin River Division, said a complete inventory is in the works for the 1,179-acre ranch. The results could be interesting, considering the land was once owned by Howard Hughes and includes a bath house, a large, spring-fed swimming pool with its own paddle boats, and some cabanas rumored to have been used as an all-nude tanning spot for Las Vegas showgirls.

Much of that stuff likely will be removed from the property in an effort to return it to its natural state, Monaco said.

Cattle grazing on the property also are expected to disappear once the current ranching lease expires in March.

Monaco said the management plan will spell out specific actions, but the overall goal is to create the best possible habitat for the dace and other sensitive species of fish, birds and insects.

A hint of how that might be done can be found across the road from the natural area at the Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge, a federal preserve originally established on 32 acres in 1979.

The refuge now includes 117 acres of old ranch and RV park property that the Fish and Wildlife Service manages as part of the 1.6 million acre Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Clark, Lincoln and Nye counties.

Refuge officials have spent the past several years tearing out swimming pools and thinning crowded stands of palm trees that, left unchecked, can choke streams and invite damaging wildfires.

The tree removal has proven somewhat controversial.

Monaco said one local resident complained that her view was spoiled when several hundred palm trees were cleared from refuge land across the road from her home.

Others have argued that the trees are a distinct variety of palm that evolved in North America and came to the Warm Springs area naturally. As such, they deserve to be protected just as much as the dace does.

Cynthia Martinez, who manages the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said there are no plans to eliminate the palm trees altogether. Some large groves will be left to preserve the character of the area and maintain roosting areas for bats that have taken a liking to the trees.

Wildlife managers also are hard at work eliminating non-native fish species that can crowd out the dace or worse.

In the early 1990s, tilapia, a non-native game fish, found its way up the Muddy River and began feeding on the natives. The dace population plunged from about 3,400 to fewer than 1,000 in just a few years.

Those numbers are on the way back up. As of the last official count, by researchers in February, 1,172 Moapa dace were living at the headwaters of the Muddy River.

So far, there have been few opportunities for the average taxpayer to see the work being done on the dace's behalf.

Martinez said the Moapa Valley refuge has no full-time staff and is closed to the public.

An effort is under way to clean up the property and construct facilities for visitors, but work has been hampered by a lack of funds.

"It's kind of been a work in progress," said Martinez, who wouldn't predict when the refuge might open.

When it does, visitors will be treated to an incomparable look at the dace in its natural habitat. The Fish and Wildlife Service has constructed a windowed cross-section of a spring-fed stream so people can watch the endangered fish swim at close range.

"I would like to have it open yesterday," Martinez said of the viewing area.

Eventually, Monaco also expects to see some public facilities within the Warm Springs Natural Area, including some birding trails, but visitor access likely will be limited to protect the dace.

The property was purchased with nearly $69 million in grants from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, which uses proceeds from the sale of federal land in the Las Vegas Valley to fund conservation and recreation activities in the region.

The water authority began taking a lead role in the protection of the dace as part of a 2006 federal agreement with water users in the area.

The deal cleared the authority to begin tapping the nearby Coyote Spring Valley, where the agency has rights to enough water to supply about 20,000 Las Vegas Valley homes.

In 2002, the state water engineer put a hold on all pending applications for water rights in Coyote Spring Valley and ordered a two-year test pumping program to determine how much water development the basin could support.

In the next few months, the authority will start work on a 15-mile pipeline to carry water from the pumping test to the Muddy River. Because the river empties into Lake Mead, the authority can then recover that water -- along with other rights it holds along the Muddy's drainage -- using its existing intakes at the lake.

The authority's holdings on the river include water leased from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2006. The Mormon church once owned much of Warm Springs Ranch and still maintains a private, 72-acre recreation area for its followers.

Nevada Power Co. also uses water from the Warm Springs area for its Reid-Gardner power plant in nearby Moapa.

The recovery effort for the Moapa dace is being watched closely by environmentalists. Some view it as a test case for how the needs of sensitive species will be balanced against the growing thirst for water in the Las Vegas Valley.

The Moapa dace is expected to remain under federal protection until at least 75 percent of its historical habitat has been restored and its population is holding steady at least 6,000 adult fish. To reach that goal could take years and cost millions of dollars.

So why all this effort to save an isolated fish barely big enough to make a decent pizza topping? For one thing, federal law requires it.

"And the fish were here before us," Monaco said.

To Martinez, the better question is, Why not?

"They tell us a lot about our natural environment," she said of the dace. "They can be indicators to changes that could effect people."

And to dismiss an entire species, even a seemingly minor one, seems like an invitation to disaster, Martinez said.

"How many rivets can you remove from an airplane before the wing falls off?"