Carson River Watershed

The Carson River watershed is a top priority for conservation in the eastern Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin. The headwaters of the Carson River sustain numerous portfolio sites for rare species, such as the Paiute cutthroat trout, and the lower Carson River contains some of the most important wet meadows and wetlands in the Great Basin. The primary threats to the Carson River and its headwaters are real estate development and the destruction of aquatic, riparian and wet meadow habitat.

The organizations that make up NSP have been working to protect the Carson River watershed since the 1980s. By 2000, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) had already protected over 25,000 acres in the upper watershed which were conveyed to federal, state and local government agencies for public enjoyment. The Nature Conservancy (TNC)—Nevada is now picking up where TPL left off, concentrating its work in the wet meadows of the Lower Carson River watershed as it flows through Carson Valley. TNC’s recent achievements include the establishment of the 800-acre River Fork Ranch Preserve, the construction of the new Whit-Hall Interpretive Center, and the preservation of three ranches under conservation easements.