The Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility

Authors: Darrick S. Weissenfluh

Year: 2012 (xliv)

Abstract

Low fish counts at Devils Hole and a concomitant lack of back up populations, due in part to inadequate facilities, prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners to secure Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act funds to build a state of the art facility. The new facility is in the final commissioning stages and has been named the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility (AMFCF). The AMFCF is located within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Amargosa Valley, NV, and it is vision is to serve two purposes: (1) support research and management actions which aid in the conservation of imperiled aquatic species and (2) establish and sustain a refugial population of endangered Devils Hole pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis, as well as support research related to the Devils Hole ecosystem. The AMFCF consists of a support building complete with office space, a propagation/lab room, and a mechanical room, the latter of which is connected to a recirculation system for a 100,000 gallon concrete tank. The concrete tank, which is semi-cavernous and consists of an upper and lower shelf similar to Devils Hole, was designed to serve as a Devils Hole pupfish refuge. Commissioning of the refuge tank has demonstrated water temperature can be maintained at the same water temperature as Devils Hole and current construction modifications are intended to also maintain dissolved oxygen levels and pH similar to those occurring in Devils Hole, if desirable. The construction of the AMFCF will further recovery actions for the Devils Hole pupfish and presents a unique opportunity to create new - and strengthen existing - partnerships that can utilize the AMFCF to carry out collaborative research on imperiled aquatic species of the desert southwest.