By Scott H Williams, Restoration Project Manager
In February 2025, our organization entered an exciting new phase with the initiation of two major restoration projects in the California portion of the Amargosa River watershed.
I am fortunate to have a new role with Amargosa Conservancy as Restoration Project Manager, a position that brings me into working relationships with experienced professionals in a wide range of fields for a three-year restoration planning project. At the same time, Morrigan DeVito has joined our team to facilitate restoration implementation and seed banking as Restoration and Plant Stewardship Coordinator.
These new projects funded by grants from California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) begin a significant new chapter for AC. Though advocacy has been by necessity our organization’s main focus in recent years, Amargosa Conservancy has a long history of working with partners to restore the watershed.
The potential for active restoration and stewardship in this watershed is immense, especially along the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River, where the river runs perennially above ground and nourishes a vibrant and biodiverse riparian corridor.
On February 18, we launched these restoration projects in the field. Hydrologist Rachel Maxwell of Roux Inc. led team members from AC, California Botanic Garden, American Bird Conservancy, River Partners, and Timbisha Shoshone tribe on a hydrology tour of the basin. Rachel described the complex system of regional groundwater flow that sustains dozens of springs from Ash Meadows to Tecopa and explained the hydrologic monitoring program of springs and wells that Roux will be continuing under the WCB grant.
AC staff lead restoration planning partners along Willow Creek south of China Ranch Date Farm
Data collected by the Roux team, headed by Andy Zdon, provides crucial insight into groundwater flow paths and tracks a steady trend of groundwater decline in the watershed. Roux will use this monitoring data to update the Death Valley Regional Flow System model and provide two new State of the Basin Reports for AC. (read the most recent State of the Basin report here).
It is impossible to overstate the role of regional groundwater as the foundation of life in the Amargosa.
Riparian ecosystems are as sensitive as they are complex; inadequate knowledge of hydrologic conditions and cycles can make or break the success of a restoration project. Roux’s consistent hydrologic monitoring and reporting helps us to construct a baseline understanding of the watershed that directly informs restoration planning.
Rachel Maxwell of Roux Inc. showing the team a monitoring well along a “dry” section of the Amargosa River, where it flows through sediments over 100 feet below the ground
On February 19, the team proceeded into the Amargosa Canyon for a hike along the Wild and Scenic River to survey the ecological health and identify opportunities for restoration of the riparian wetland from Tecopa to the confluence with Willow Creek and up to China Ranch. We stopped frequently at springs and seeps along the river to discuss our observations; initial restoration targets may include incision of the river channel and invasive plants such as Phragmites reeds and Tamarisk trees.
Our partners in this project are a veritable powerhouse of diverse expertise: botanists, fish biologists, hydrologists, bird biologists, and restoration ecologists. I felt honored to be in the presence of so many passionate, experienced professionals during this exciting conceptual phase of revitalizing our river. Laurel Sebastian of River Partners described the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River as a “blank slate” compared to her past restoration projects, since major human meddling such as dams and agricultural infrastructure are absent here and we can move directly into ecological restoration without having to re-engineer its morphology. While this planning effort is still in its infancy, the team is aligned around a goal of multi-species benefits, embracing the understanding that the resilience of the riparian system on the whole is dependent on a holistic restoration strategy that fosters the strength of each unique species.
The confluence of Willow Creek and the Amargosa River
Next up, in the coming weeks the WCB restoration planning team will reconvene to tour the marshes of Shoshone and Tecopa, where biologists from UC Davis are studying the health of the endemic and endangered Amargosa vole. The recent fire at the Borehole spring, which harbors the largest population of voles, was a harsh reminder of the precarity of this species. Our partners at UC Davis have proposed a “megamarsh” restoration project that would expand the vole’s habitat in order to secure its long-term viability. The fire drove home the importance of increasing its range, and this restoration may be the lifeline that enables the little mammals to weather similar threats in the future.
WCB grant partners observe the recently burned marsh at the Borehole hot spring
These two grants from WCB set the stage for a new vibrant chapter in the Amargosa’s long history of restoration.
Past restoration efforts have focused on tamarisk removal and local Amargosa vole habitat restoration, but these projects are much more comprehensive, targeting over 1,000 acres and addressing a multitude of species from the diminutive speckled dace to stands of large willows and cottonwoods.
In the coming months, we will be turning towards community outreach and engaging Amargosa stakeholders, from the Timbisha Shoshone village at Furnace Creek to the long-time residents of Tecopa Hot Springs. There will be opportunities for AC members, local residents, and businesses to participate in this process by sharing their knowledge of the land, offering input, and volunteering directly in restoration projects.
As winter slips rapidly into spring here in the eastern Mojave Desert, I can’t help feeling optimistic: this resilient river and all of the stubborn, unique flora and fauna who rely on its water will soon receive an opportunity to thrive again after decades of neglect. We had a beautiful two days on the land, and I couldn’t be more excited to start working with this incredible team to start unlocking the ecological potential of our beloved Amargosa River.
Golden Hour on Willow Creek