City eyeing water rights for Buzzy’s Ranch

An oasis on the edge of the Great Basin, Buzzy’s Ranch is nearly 500 acres of irrigated pastures and wetlands. Carson City owns the property as part of the city’s open space program, and staff members in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department are working to keep the area green and vibrant in perpetuity.

On June 20, in a joint meeting, members of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Open Space Advisory Committee authorized staff to bring before the Board of Supervisors a measure to begin securing water rights for Buzzy’s Ranch.

Carson City Open Space Manager Lyndsey Boyer expects the measure to go to supervisors in August, tentatively. She told the Appeal the goal is to keep the property irrigated and “forever protected.”

“The main purpose of this item was to get a recommendation from OSAC to seek authorization from the Board of Supervisors to pursue due diligence for the water-rights acquisition,” Boyer said. “This includes appraisals, title reports, drafting lease agreements, etc. Our long-term water rights strategy includes both a fee title acquisition of water rights through the SNPLMA grant as well as a potential long-term lease-to-buy option from Vidler Water Co.”

The city recently received an approximately $1.8 million Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act grant to purchase 694 acre-feet of water rights from Vidler. This will be used to irrigate about a third of the property including the central section containing wetlands enhanced by Ducks Unlimited. Historically, the entire property has needed about 1,895 acre-feet per year, according to the city.

The property was purchased by the city in two phases in 2007 and 2010 after residents formed a coalition to save the agricultural land from development. The city used funding from State Question 1 (approved in 2002) but didn’t have enough for water rights. The city entered into an agreement in which the seller would use existing water rights for continued agricultural use.

Now, the city is seeking its own long-term rights. Boyer estimated the costs for such an acquisition at $3 million to $5 million but warned the amount could be higher.

“Even the rights purchased through the SNPLMA grant are owned by Vidler too, but the remaining two-thirds we are hoping to obtain from Vidler through the long-term lease option,” she said.

The scenic property is bordered by popular public trails and lies between Riverview Park to the north and Silver Saddle Ranch to the south. According to the city’s management plan, developed by Resource Concepts Inc., the ranch serves as critical floodplain to the Carson River. The wetland area is also important habitat for waterfowl nesting.

“2019 bird population surveys at Buzzy’s Ranch showed 34 unique bird species with a total of 429 individuals observed over a two-day period,” reads the management plan. “Waterfowl observed included Canada goose, great blue heron, mallard, gadwall and wood duck.”

While Boyer is hopeful all water rights for the property will be secured, the management plan does provide a drought contingency plan outlining how some pastures could be converted to dryland use. The area receives about 8 inches of precipitation a year, according to the plan.

“If areas of Buzzy’s Ranch can no longer be irrigated, vegetation management will be required to transition the plant community from irrigated species to arid species,” reads the plan. “Site stabilization will be focused on transitioning irrigated pasture to stable dryland perennial communities. Doing so, without temporary irrigation water for establishment, will be extremely difficult in several areas due to severe soil limitations. Wherever possible, seeding efforts are recommended to occur with limited or temporary irrigation to assure germination and establishment of seedings.”

The USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit has been evaluating dryland techniques, according to the plan. A test plot at the site has been used for experimentation with drought-tolerant species. Russian wildrye and Siberian wheatgrass are two grasses identified to be used should irrigation become unavailable or shortened in the future.

Boyer said the eastern portion of the ranch is better suited for dryland but that any such effort would be challenging.

“However, about 40 to 60 acres at the southeast corner of the ranch could be feasible,” she said. “This is our backup plan, but seeking full irrigation of the property is our primary goal.”

Boyer also said the management plan, which outlines grazing techniques and irrigation infrastructure, is a flexible document.

“The plan is meant to be a baseline starting point for management of the ranch but ultimately will be a flexible document based on changing conditions, needs and monitoring results,” she said.

For information about the city’s open space program, visit https://www.carson.org/government/departments-g-z/parks-recreation-open-space/parks-and-places/parks-and-open-spaces/open-space-division.