Designate the Ash Meadows National Conservation Area
The Amargosa River: One of the most endangered rivers of 2026
American Rivers named the Amargosa River to the 10 Most Endangered Rivers of 2026 list. Watch this video to learn more about the dangers this extraordinary desert river faces, and why new federal protections are urgently needed.
Water is life in the desert.
Protecting Ash Meadows
means protecting our future.
The Ash Meadows
National Conservation Area
Protecting Water.
Supporting Communities.
Getting Development Right.
The community of Amargosa Valley, Nevada has called for the creation of an Ash Meadows National Conservation Area (NCA): a locally driven solution to protect water resources while guiding responsible land use in one of the most sensitive desert landscapes in North America.
On the shoulder of Death Valley National Park, the oasis of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge depends on ancient groundwater that sustains rare springs, wetlands, and at least 26 species found nowhere else on Earth. These same waters are the sole source of drinking water for residents of Amargosa Valley and for communities of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.
Today, this landscape faces growing pressure from development, including large-scale renewable energy development and mining exploration on nearby public lands. These extractive projects threaten to harm the ecosystem and deplete the ancient flowing waters of the Amargosa River on which every community in this vast and arid region depends.
Water is life in the desert.
Protecting Ash Meadows means
protecting our future.
A balanced path forward is possible: one that protects water while guiding responsible energy development.
The Ash Meadows NCA presents a locally-driven and bi-partisan opportunity to ensure a just balance of energy development and permanent conservation is achieved for one the crown jewels of the Mojave Desert.
Simply put, this is a place where we must get this transition right now, or risk losing it forever.
Header photo: Ash Meadows, Amargosa Valley.
Content photos, top to bottom:
Sunray Blossoming;
Ash Meadows Gum Plant, credit Naomi Fraga.