As city dwellers, we spend most of our lives in homes, offices and schools, with nature serving as a peaceful backdrop and a potential retreat.

Recently, however, that presence has been less harmonious. Climate change has contributed to the worst drought of the millennium, along with plummeting water levels along the Colorado River. Rising temperatures have led to more frequent and intense wildfires, which threaten wildlife habitats. Humans, too, have contributed to the natural world’s distress, when developing land, damming rivers and introducing non-native species.

Lauren MacLeod, a wildlife education coordinator with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), teaches students and the public about Southern Nevada’s natural environment and why we should care about its non-human dwellers. Twenty-eight plant and animal species in Nevada are classified as endangered—with 48 considered threatened—by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).

As a state agency, NDOW is responsible for managing and restoring fish and wildlife resources. Its fish hatchery at Lake Mead serves as one example of those efforts. “It’s dedicated to native fish rearing, specifically the Razorback Sucker and Bonytail Chub,” MacLeod explains. “Right now, they’re currently not raising either of those fish, because the raceways don’t have water in them.”

Last spring, Lake Mead’s level receded so much that an intake pipe became visible above water for the first time. Scientists have pointed to more than 20 years of below-average precipitation along the Colorado River, compounded by the warming of the atmosphere due to carbon emissions (climate change) and changing weather patterns.

In many ways, wildlife, plant life and the larger ecosystem are in human hands. We have the power both to destroy and restore, and our well-being and survival depend on us better understanding the natural world and the life that inhabits it.

In celebration of Nevada’s diverse plant and wildlife, the Weekly invites you on a guided nature walk.

DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP

Endangered? No.

Basics: The Desert Bighorn Sheep is Nevada’s state mammal, well-adapted to live in the desert. “They have specialized hooves, which are almost like a suction cup,” MacLeod says. “It’s a really great adaptation to keep them high and above the sights, whether it’s to dodge predators or just keep an eye out for [them]. And it allows the sheep to outrun them pretty nicely, too.”

Desert Bighorn Sheep eat mostly grasses, shrubs and cacti. For that reason, “Water is one of their larger threats, especially with the drought we’ve had for over 20 years,” MacLeod says.

Observe them up close at Hemenway Park in Boulder City.

Status: Nevada’s Desert Bighorn Sheep population has declined in recent years due to unprecedented drought and an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia among herds. In 2017, the sheep population peaked around 10,000. Today, NDOW biologists estimate there are about 8,000 statewide.

“They require freestanding water to drink, so it can be a challenge when some of that isn’t available in the desert,” MacLeod says.

The agency isn’t waiting for it to rain. NDOW installed more than 40 “guzzlers,” or human made drinking reservoirs, in the driest areas in 2020 and 2021. Since then, helicopters have hauled more than 200,000 gallons of water to those sites.

MOJAVE DESERT TORTOISE

Endangered? No, but Mojave desert tortoises were federally classified as threatened in 1990, so they’re at risk of becoming endangered.

Basics: The Mojave Desert Tortoise is Nevada’s state reptile. “They have a lot of adaptations that help them in a dry environment. They might go an entire year and not take a sip of water. Most of the water they get is from the plants that they eat,” MacLeod explains. “They don’t need any standing water.”

That doesn’t mean droughts don’t affect these tortoises, however. “[Drought] still can negatively affect their ability to thrive off of some of those plants that they’re eating,” McLeod says.

Also, and this is important, if you ever encounter a desert tortoise, “Don’t pick it up,” she says. “The way that they hold onto their hydration is through their bladders, … [and] if they’re frightened, the tortoise will actually [pee] itself and could potentially lose all the water that it’s been storing for a year, which can be pretty detrimental to their survival.”

Mojave Desert Tortoises tend to live about 40 years in the wild.

Status: Mojave desert tortoises typically live in open desert ecosystems at low elevations. “That’s usually the creosote, bursage habitat … anywhere where you’re seeing cactus,” MacLeod says.

“One of their main threats is habitat loss due to development,” she says. “[But] our habitat team has been working on planting native plants to combat the introduction of some invasive weeds [that] increase wildfire in general, which can be detrimental to some of those tortoise populations,” along with their habitats.

Counting the Mojave desert tortoise population can be complicated, unlike bighorn sheep, which NDOW can survey by helicopter. MacLeod says, “A healthy population of desert tortoises in their given habitat has been determined to be about four tortoises per square kilometer, which is what their numbers were found to be at around 10 years ago. Today, that has dropped to three or below per square kilometer.”

BONYTAIL CHUB & RAZORBACK SUCKER

Endangered? 

Bonytail Chub: Yes, since 1980, and considered critically endangered by conservation and advocacy organizations.

Razorback Sucker: Yes, since 1991, and also considered critically endangered.

Basics: Those who fish Lake Mead and Willow Beach know that they’re filled with striped bass, rainbow trout and catfish. But the Colorado River reservoir is also home to several endangered or threatened fish.

The bonytail chub is a thin, strong swimmer, even in swift rivers. It has an olive-colored back, silver sides and a white belly and can grow up to 22 inches and weigh as much as two pounds, according to FWS.

The razorback sucker is most plentiful near Willow Beach in upper Lake Mohave and can also be found in Lake Mead. Although the “razor” in its name evokes images of sharp-toothed piranha or barracuda, it’s actually an olive-colored sucker fish with a thin “keel” bone behind its head. FWS considers it “one of the largest” suckers in North America, weighing up to 10 pounds.

Bonytail and razorback populations have been declining since the damming of the Colorado River. “[It] reduced the sediment in the river, allowing sunlight to penetrate through the water and produce an abundance of algae and plant growth,” the National Park Service website reads. “Without the abrasive sediments, small animals were able to colonize the riverbed and bank lines as well as the newly formed reservoirs.”

The dams also changed seasonal flooding and water temperature patterns throughout the river system, affecting the fishes’ habitats.

Status: “One of their primary threats is the non-native fish species,” MacLeod says. “Both the chub and the razorback are pretty slow-growing, … [and] if they’re spawning in the river system, it’s pretty easy for a bass to eat them up before they even get a chance.”

Before razorbacks were listed as endangered, their population had declined by 60%—from around 60,000 counted in 1988 to fewer than 24,000 in 1992, according to NPS.

NDOW operates the Lake Mead Hatchery to raise and grow chubs and suckers, so they can compete with non-native fish. That operation is currently on hold, due to water pumping issues caused by Lake Mead’s low water level, though officials expect to resume in 2024.

With endangered status come certain protections. “There’s no harvesting [allowed for] the bonytail or razorback,” MacLeod says. Those caught can face fines as high as $50,000 and up to a year of jail time.

Razorbacks have been known to live for more than 40 years, while Bonytail Chubs can live up to age 50.

SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW FLYCATCHER

Endangered? Yes, since 1995.

The Basics: The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher is a small, perching songbird less than 6 inches long and weighing under half of an ounce. “It’s dependent on a riparian habitat throughout the Southwest and Mexico … thick vegetation you can find along shorelines or in standing water,” MacLeod says.

“[And] because they do require that shoreline nesting habitat, it’s pretty directly affected by the drought. When there’s less available water to create their nest, it could have an effect where they’re unable to raise their young.”

She adds that the construction of dams has compounded habitat loss for the species. But the growth of a non-native weed in the area has been a boon for the flycatcher. “With the introduction of tamarisk, the flycatcher has kind of adapted to it, and you’ll now actually find them nesting around some of the tamarisk.”

Status: In addition to habitat loss, parasitic birds pose a threat to Southwestern Willow Flycatchers. “We have the Brown-headed Cowbirds out here, … [and] what they do is lay their own eggs in the nest of other birds. When those eggs hatch alongside the native birds, the mama bird tends to feed all of them. And, evolutionarily speaking, the larger birds get the worm,” MacLeod says.

As with other birds, the cowbirds have had a visible effect on the flycatcher population. NDOW is monitoring “significant” flycatcher populations in Overton and the Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area in Lincoln County. Recent recovery plan goals for flycatcher habitats set aside 1,975 “stream kilometers” in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, according to the NPS website.

MOUNT CHARLESTON BLUE BUTTERFLY

Endangered? Yes, since 2013.

Basics: The Spring Mountains west of Las Vegas are known as a “sky island,” a mountain ecosystem surrounded by desert. With the intense summer heat and vast desert blocking the range off from other ecosystems, it’s home to many endemic species.

The Mount Charleston Blue Butterfly is one of 20 known animal species that can be found only in the Spring Mountains. Despite its name, it has some purple tones—almost a shade of periwinkle—and a light brown or gray border, with females displaying shades of darker blue and orange.

The tiny creature, whose wingspan usually reaches only 1 inch, prefers to live in forests at elevations between 8,200 and 11,500 feet, according to a recent FWS report. The species largely depends on buckwheat and the flowering Torrey’s Milkvetch plant to lay eggs.

Status: Regional plants and wildlife are feeling the heat. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, every part of the Southwest experienced higher average temperatures between 2000 and 2020, with some areas up to two degrees warmer than average.

With the Southwest among the country’s most rapidly warming regions, climate change is threatening the habitats of sky islands. Species in these isolated ecosystems depend on mountain temperatures and precipitation patterns—both of which are impacted by climate change—to sustain life.

While all sorts of wildlife in the Southwest are dealing with these changes to their habitat, endemic species like the Mount Charleston Blue Butterfly could see their population dwindle even further. FWS and UNLV researchers are monitoring their status, and working to restore and designate habitats for them.

Space Invaders

Prepare yourself for coyote (and even mountain lion) encounters

Southern Nevada is sprawling. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Clark County second in the nation for population growth. And, according to a recent UNLV report on regional planning, the county’s population is expected to reach 2.94 million by 2035 and nearly 3.39 million by 2060.

Of course, the need for shelter isn’t exclusive to humans. When we develop new places to live, we often encroach on wildlife habitats, forcing animals to adapt.

Local coyotes, in particular, have become very comfortable sharing space with humans in the area. “They’re such adaptable creatures,” says Lauren MacLeod, wildlife education coordinator with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW).

“When they learn that a golf course has a sprinkler system and an abundance of rabbits, it’s not a matter of them not being able to return to the desert. It’s a matter of them choosing that area over the desert, because the desert is hard to survive [in].”

Coyote sightings have become common around the Las Vegas Valley, frightening for owners of small pets, in particular. MacLeod says it’s important for the community to understand how to interact with all sorts of wildlife.

“The first time they see a human, they’re going to run the other direction, [thinking] this huge predator is going to eat me,” she says. “If they keep returning to that location and then continue to see humans that are just kind of ignoring that they’re there, they stop seeing us as predators.”

NDOW emphasizes that people should “actively scare” coyotes: “1. Stand your ground; 2. Get big, loud and scary; and 3. Wave your hands, and yell at the coyote,” the agency’s website advises.

Local mountain lions sightings also seem to be on the uptick, with NDOW receiving about 80 such reports in 2021 and 2022. And make no mistake, MacLeod says, they pose a “serious threat” to public safety. “Some of that can definitely be attributed to the drought—chasing resources into town, whether it’s prey or water,” she adds.

Comprehensive guides for how to properly deal with wildlife encounters are available at ndow.org.

Getting into the weeds

Lake Mead’s nursery aids in plant preservation

The Lake Mead National Recreation Area employs three vegetation biologists, charged with weed control, preservation of plant habitats and growing native plants. Biologist Carrie Norman is one of them, working out of the park’s Song Dog Native Plant Nursery, which marks its 30th anniversary this year.

“It’s really good to get the native component back out there, because … [it] keeps that circle going,” she says. “We provide the food out there for pollination for the different insects or animals to eat.”

And Song Dog, the nursery’s name? It’s a coyote reference, Norman explains. “Coyotes eat the seeds and put them wherever they’re walking, and then the [seeds] grow up because of the fertilizer from [the coyotes’] poop.” Like those coyotes, “We help bring the plants up from seed, and then other agencies put it out into the field for their restoration projects.”

The nursery raises plants requested by multiple agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Department of Wildlife. Lately, Song Dog has fielded requests to grow pollinators like globe mallow and penstemon. The nursery often grows creosote, which lives throughout the park and provides food and habitat for creatures like the Mojave Desert Tortoise and small mammals. Song Dog also works with water-dependent species found near the Colorado River and its tributaries, including cottonwood and willow trees and aquatic plants.

Additionally, Lake Mead biologists are heading removal projects for invasive weeds, chiefly tamarisk. “It can take over, because it grows faster,” Norman says. “Its roots grow a lot deeper than native plants like willows or cottonwoods.”

Eliminating all tamarisk in the vast park would be too difficult; the plant’s deep roots make it tough to remove for good. So, “We’ve decided to focus on the springs, the riparian corridors and springs in the park,” Norman continues, adding that Song Dog depends heavily on volunteers.

Find information about the nursery’s volunteer opportunities at bit.ly/3zF0yTo.

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