Nevada

F

Plant Life

The most widespread form of vegetation in Nevada is sagebrush, especially big sagebrush. Sagebrush grows in most of the nonsalty soils of the northern basins, especially between altitudes of 1,500 and 2,100 m (5,000 and 7,000 ft). Most of the state’s northern portion, therefore, has a low, bushy cover of these silver-gray plants and grasses, making up what is generally considered the typical Nevada landscape. Most of the sagebrush plants are widely spaced, occupying only a small part of the land surface. In some places, however, the sagebrush grows 3 m (10 ft) high.

Several other shrubs, such as winter fat, and ephedra, commonly called Mormon tea, are often found together with sagebrush. Rabbit brush grows where the land is too saline for sagebrush. In the north there are also numerous kinds of grasses. Cheat grass, introduced from Asia near the beginning of the 20th century, is becoming increasingly common in Nevada. The grass takes moisture and nutrients from native species, causing their decline, and has been associated with an increased occurrence of wildfires since the 1950s.

The drier and hotter parts of the state, in west central and southern Nevada, have a vegetation of shadscale, saltbush, greasewood, and Nevada ephedra. These bushy plants have a maximum height of about 30 cm (about 12 in), and are widely spaced. In the hottest parts of the state, in the desert areas extending south from Logandale, Las Vegas, and Beatty, the vegetation is composed largely of creosote bush and burroweed, or white bur-sage. Also in this area are several species of cactus and yucca. One interesting type of yucca is the Joshua tree, with oddly shaped branches and waxy flowers.

Forests and woodlands cover 15 percent of Nevada’s land area. Many of the lower mountain ranges, where rainfall is heavier than in the basins, have woodlands of piñon and juniper. They are low shrublike trees that are well adapted to semiarid conditions. The piñon pine is noted for its sweet edible nuts. The higher mountains of Nevada, where rainfall is heaviest, are densely forested. Ponderosa pine, also called western yellow pine, and Douglas fir grow on the higher mountain slopes, especially on those around Lake Tahoe. These forests also contain numerous small flowers and such shrubs as elderberry, currant, and snowbush. Near Lake Tahoe are some stands of sugar pine and lodgepole pine. The high peaks of some mountain ranges, such as Wheeler Peak and Mount Moriah in the Snake Range, reach above the timberline. Here there are a few small areas of mountain tundra. These meadowlike areas have short curled grasses and tiny wildflowers.

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G

Animal Life

The mountain forests are the home of mule deer, beavers, foxes, muskrats, porcupines, bobcats, lynx, cougars, and several varieties of squirrels. The mule deer inhabits almost every part of the state. The abundance of deer has led to an increase in the population of cougars, for which deer are an important food. There are small numbers of elk in the mountains of White Pine County. Bighorn sheep are found in southern Nevada. A great variety of small animals inhabit the desert areas, many of them active at night. These include kangaroo and pack rats, rabbits, coyotes, ground squirrels, badgers, skunks, numerous species of lizards, desert tortoises, diamondback and sidewinder rattlesnakes, scorpions, beetles, velvet ants, centipedes, tarantulas, and Gila monsters. Herds of pronghorn live under government protection on an antelope range in northwestern Nevada.

Desert birds include the cactus wren, mockingbird, nighthawk, and roadrunner. Game birds include the quail, chukar, sage grouse, pheasant, dove, and duck. Anaho Island, in Pyramid Lake, is a major breeding ground for white pelicans. Nevada’s fish include trout, channel cats, bluegills, black crappies, black bass, and Sacramento perch.

H

Conservation

In such an arid territory as Nevada the land must be used carefully to prevent soil erosion and to maintain forests and range grasses. Many conservation programs are federally operated, since the federal government owns 92 percent of the land in Nevada.

The introduction of domesticated animals like horses, sheep, and cows in the late 19th century largely destroyed the natural cover of vegetation. The vegetation of Nevada was not adapted to grazing because Nevada had no large plant-eating animals such as buffalo or elk. Therefore the arrival of large domesticated animals doomed many tiny, delicate native plants. Without this cover the land could not hold moisture, and serious soil erosion resulted. Since 1934 and the passage of the Taylor Grazing Act, Nevada has, like other Western states, placed much of its land in grazing districts. In these districts, grazing rights are leased to ranchers and are carefully controlled. One of the by-products of this policy has been the preservation of wildlife. The Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are among the agencies that manage federal lands. Government agencies also advise farmers and ranchers about the best use of their own private lands. The state has its own departments of Natural Resources and Agricultural and Mining.

Water conservation in Nevada is also a pressing problem. The relatively small amount of water available from streams is used almost to its maximum extent. There is also available, however, some groundwater, or water beneath the earth’s surface. To conserve this supply, comprehensive state water laws regulate well-drilling and the pumping of groundwater. Most irrigation works in the state are small and have been privately built, but Lahontan Dam on the Carson River and Rye Patch Dam on the Humboldt River supply water to medium-sized federal irrigation projects. The Newlands Project, under which Derby Dam and later the Lahontan Dam were constructed, were the first government irrigation-and-reclamation projects. Hoover and Davis dams on the Colorado River benefit Nevada and the other Southwestern states by providing water storage, hydroelectric power, irrigation, flood control, and recreational resources for tourists.

Areas set aside for wildlife protection include eight federal wildlife refuges and a number of state refuges. Many are set aside to help in the recovery of aquatic wildlife, and there is also a refuge set aside for wild horses.

In 2006 Nevada had only 1 hazardous waste site on a national priority list for cleanup due to its severity. The state, however, has been proposed as the only site for storage of high-level nuclear waste. Nevada, furthermore, was one of only three states in the nation whose discharge of toxic chemicals into the environment was increasing, growing by 39 percent in the period 1995–2000. Also, while air quality was improving in most of the nation’s cities, the Las Vegas metropolitan region had an increasing number of days in which the air failed to meet federal standards for carbon monoxide.

III

Economic Activities

Nevada had the fastest growing population of any state in the 1990s and one of the fastest growing economies. Boom and bust has been a typical economic cycle for Nevada, although the boom in the 1990s was without precedent in the state.

Mining was the traditional cornerstone of the Nevada economy. The initial mining boom began with the discovery of the great silver and gold deposits of the Comstock Lode in 1859. Other discoveries led to the establishment of small mining communities throughout the state. Agriculture, especially cattle ranching and other livestock raising, developed as the second most important aspect of the economy. The legalization of gambling in 1931 led to growth of the tourism and entertainment industries, which today dominate the state’s economy. Manufacturing has expanded since the 1960s. A rapidly growing population, in part due to the increased job opportunities in the tourism-driven service sector, has in turn made the construction industry an important employer. The federal government employs many people in Nevada and is a significant contributor to the state’s economy. Perhaps the most important federal facilities in the state are Nellis Air Force Base and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site. Other sites test some of the federal governments most secret military equipment, particularly aircraft.

Nevada had a work force of 1,295,000 in 2006. By far the largest share of them, 48 percent, worked in the service industries, particularly jobs catering to tourists such as ski resort or casino workers. Another 19 percent worked in wholesale or retail trade; 12 percent in federal, state, or local government, including those in the military; 9 percent in construction; 42 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 5 percent in transportation or public utilities; 5 percent in manufacturing; 2 percent in farming (including agricultural services), forestry, or fishing; and 1 percent in mining. In 2005, 14 percent of Nevada’s workers belonged to unions.

A

Agriculture

There were 3,000 farms and ranches in Nevada in 2005, of which 45 percent had annual revenues of more than $10,000; many of the remaining farms were secondary employment for operators who held other jobs. Farms and ranches covered 2.5 million hectares (6.3 million acres). Crops are grown on 12 percent of the farmland, and irrigation is required on 82 percent of all cropland. The vast majority of the state’s farmland, however, is used to grow forage for livestock. Because of the arid conditions and sparse vegetation, livestock need a great deal of land on which to graze. Ranches in Nevada are correspondingly large; the average farm size in the state is 850 hectares (2,100 acres), one of the the highest averages in the country.

Sales of livestock and livestock products account for 68 percent of Nevada’s total agricultural income, and cattle ranching alone provides one-third of that total. Dairy farming is another important part of the state’s agricultural economy. Much of the remaining farm income comes from hay, alfalfa, and other crops that are fed to livestock in winter. Most of the ranching is done in the less arid northeastern parts of the state: near the Humboldt Valley in Elko, Eureka, and Humboldt counties, and in White Pine County. Almost all the livestock graze on public lands at least part of the year. In parts of southern Nevada, much of the land is too dry for grazing.

There are a few small areas where dry farming is practiced, but a majority of Nevada’s crops are produced on irrigated land. The irrigated croplands are concentrated mainly in the Humboldt Valley; in the Carson River area near Fallon; in the central part of the Walker Valley; and in the central Truckee Valley.

Natural hay and alfalfa are valuable fodder crops. Other fodder and field crops, including wheat, barley, and oats, are grown. In the western part of the state, dairy farming is important. Lesser crops include potatoes and onions. There are also a number of fruit and vegetable farms in the southern part of the state. In all these crops, however, Nevada ranks low in terms of total U.S. production.

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