A Message from the President

It looks like the stage is set for a good water year on the heels of five years of drought. Snow levels on all three major river systems in western Nevada are well above normal and a relatively wet and cold spring has kept that much needed moisture in the hills and runoff at a minimum so far. Last year, a warm spring sent a lot of the stored water down the rivers earlier than we would have liked.

In addition, the Humboldt River system is also above normal this year, flooding in some areas as this was written. Hopefully, some of that will reach the Humboldt Wildlife Management Area that has sat dry and unproductive for waterfowl for some time.

Through the tireless efforts of a number of NWA members, the 15 th annual Stillwater Stomp was a success with the organization reaping a profit of approximately $16,500. The officers and board members would like to thank all who attended and took part in our most recent fundraiser. Special thanks to Stomp co-chairmen Patrick Rucker, Bernard Vennneman and Daryl Harwell.

In addition, our sincere gratitude goes out to all contributors (see pg. ) whose donations made it all possible. I sincerely hope you will support our various contributors with your purchases throughout the year as much as possible, or at least stop in and let them know how much you appreciate their support for Nevada's waterfowl and wetlands habitat.

As discussed in the last FLYER , NWA filed a "test case" with the State Engineer for transfer of 6.58 acre feet of NWA purchased water rights in October of last year to see if we would be granted a transfer rate of 3.55 acre feet of water per acre (AFA), rather than the 2.99 AFA that some contend is the correct or legal rate. As expected, the Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe and the Bureau of Reclamation both filed protests against our transfer. That means the State Engineer must hold a hearing on the matter. So far, we have not heard when that hearing will be. As many have said, it looks like this issue will ultimately be decided in court.