The Warm Springs Natural Area, also known as the Warm Springs Ranch, is located near the Moapa Indian Reservation in

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (t ...

, at an elevation of . The area is owned by the

Southern Nevada Water Authority The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) is a government agency that was founded in 1991 to manage Southern Nevada's water needs on a regional basis in Clark County. SNWA provides wholesale water treatment and delivery for the greater Las Vegas ...

(SNWA). The area is a natural

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. The oasis is fed by close to 24 natural warm springs and contains many naturally occurring California fan palms (''

Washingtonia filifera ''Washingtonia filifera'' pygmy date palm, the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (i ...

''), creating an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

normally limited to the "low"

Colorado Desert The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...

and so unique to the "high"

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. The springs are the

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

for the Muddy River. The area is popular for

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

and

recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

uses. There are year-round residents that own private property with homes. There are

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

areas for

recreational vehicles A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camp ...

and a private, multi-use, recreation area owned by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church).

History

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

purchased the

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

in 1968. The LDS church acquired much of the Ranch in 1978 and attempted to continue its use as an operating ranch. When they were unsuccessful in ranching including cattle grazing, the LDS church sold most of the land, keeping operated as the Warm Springs Recreational Ranch. A public swimming facility separate from the Hughes ranch and the LDS facility was also developed in the area. The 100 acre Desert Oasis Warm Springs was a popular summer destination for many Las Vegas residents in the 1970s and 1980s. The

acquired large portions of the old ranch property in 2007 with the intention to protect the headwaters of the Muddy River and the habitat of the endangered Moapa dace. On July 1, 2010, an accidental fire swept through the overgrown palm trees, burning much of the area and destroying many buildings including the original ranch house at the LDS Warm Springs ranch. The LDS facility was rebuilt and opened for use of members of the LDS church in June 2017. The 1,220 acres acquired by the Southern Nevada Water Authority is now known as the Warm Springs Natural Area and has been developed into a nature conservancy and publicly accessible nature area with trails and exhibits.

Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge

The

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

established the Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge area of Warm Springs as a

wildlife preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

to protect the

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of Moapa dace, a

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

species of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Muddy River. The Moapa dace have declined in population due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

of non-native fish. This unique small area of , and the fish, have many stakeholders in their ongoing preservation.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

"The Palms of Moapa"

"Integrated Science Assessment for the Upper Muddy River, Clark County, Nevada"
Geography of Clark County, Nevada Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex Populated places in the Mojave Desert Oases of Nevada Bodies of water of Clark County, Nevada