By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
The public comment period is currently underway on a plan by the Bureau of Land Management for a restoration project on a portion of the Muddy River floodplain in Moapa. Members of the public are being encouraged to make comments during the scoping period which closes next week on March 27.
On Tuesday, March 13, a group of staffers from the BLM Las Vegas Field Office held a public scoping meeting at the Moapa Recreation Center to explain the project, answer questions and record comments from the public. About a dozen residents were in attendance for the presentation.
During the meeting, BLM Project Manager JJ Smith gave a presentation detailing what was being considered.
Smith showed a map of the proposed project area which is roughly a half-mile stretch of the Muddy River just north of a point called White Narrows where the stream enters the Muddy River Indian Reservation.
In this area, the river runs north to south about 400 yards west of Saltbrush Lane, where there is a rural neighborhood of about two dozen homes.
Smith said that the BLM staff had been thinking about conservation concerns and flooding issues in this area for many years and trying to identify funding to address the issues.
Historically, the river had originally spread out through this area and flowed slowly and freely across the floodplain, Smith said.
But at some point in the past, the plain had been claimed for agricultural use as a ranch. An earthen levee had been built to push the river against the cliffs on the western edge of the valley.
Over a long period of time, these agricultural improvements had created some conservation concerns, Smith said.
“When you create a narrower channel, it usually directs the energy of the water downward,” Smith said. “So it tends to cut the stream channel deeper.”
In this case, it had caused the water table to drop in the area over time. “That is not so good for native plants like willows or cottonwoods trying to get established with fairly shallow root systems,” Smith said. “That is what we are trying to reestablish here. For invasive tamarisk, though, they thrive in that kind of environment. So that is a concern.”
In addition, the narrow channel had caused problems with flooding. Since 2016, the old levee has breached in different spots causing flooding onto private property to the east. “We want to be good neighbors, so of course, that is a major concern to us,” Smith said.
The proposal was to remove the old earth levee and allow the river to spread out again over the flood plain of the area. This would encourage the native vegetation and wildlife habitat to thrive once more, he said.
A new levee would then be engineered and built about 500 feet to the east of the current levee to protect homeowners on the other side.
“This would give the river space to meander around and the floodwaters a place to spread out, slow down and move downstream,” Smith said.
Smith gave a timeline for the process. After the scoping process, the BLM would compile all of the comments and create a draft assessment, analyzing the environmental impacts of the project. This would include a number of alternatives for action.
The draft plan should be complete and be brought again to the public for comment. Then the final plan would be completed by the end of this year, he said. Implementation would then begin next year.
BLM Las Vegas Field Manager Bruce Silitoe, who was in attendance at last week’s meeting, emphasized the importance of input from the public.
“It is extremely important for us to gather information from you during this project,” Silitoe said. “You all live out here and you know the lay of the land and what is going on. So we appreciate any information and insights you can provide us.”
A court reporter was in attendance at the meeting to record comments from those in attendance.
In addition, the BLM is accepting comments in several other ways. Email comments may be sent to BLM_NV_SNDO_NEPA_Comments@blm.gov.
Comments may also be mailed to BLM Las Vegas Field Office, Attn: JJ Smith, Project Manager, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130.
Other information for the project as well as making online comments can be found at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2031056/510.
