Work began Tuesday to turn 27 acres of the Silver Saddle Ranch into a pond and marsh as a way to make up for the expected environmental damage being brought to the area by the Carson City freeway.
Workers from the Carson City Streets Department expect to finish the wetlands in the next two weeks. The five-acre pond and 22-acre marsh will provide habitat for a variety of birds and other wildlife.
Water will be diverted from the Carson River to fill the area. Plans call for maintaining the wetlands by using treated effluent water.
The Bureau of Land Management provided use of the publicly owned ranch.
"We are thrilled to enhance the wildlife and water recharge potential of Silver Saddle Ranch," said John Singlaub, the bureau's Carson City field office manager. "This could end up being a great bird-watching spot in the future."
The shallow pond will be just east of the Mexican Ditch and north of Carson River Road on a 40-acre parcel of pasture land.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced Monday the Bureau of Land Management is proposing to spend $16,000 from the 2004 federal budget to pay for operating the Silver Saddle Ranch and provide interpretive services and environmental education programs.