Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area ~ Comins Lake

Nearest town: Ely, Nevada 10 miles.
Location: Southeast of Ely on US Hwys 6, 50 & 93.

The Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area (SVWMA) is a 6,400 acre site located just south of Ely, Nevada. The property is nestled between the Schell Creek and Egan Ranges, easily accessed from U.S. Highway 93/50.  The SVWMA (originally named the 3C ranch for the Consolidated Copper Company, owners in the early 1900's) has been operated as a ranch for over 100 years, taking advantage of the unusually high amounts of water available for irrigation.     

The Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW) has had a long-term interest in acquisition of the property due to its high wildlife habitat value and restoration potential.  In addition, the state must pay compensation to landowners for damage caused by elk, deer, and antelope.  With the expansion of Nevada's elk herds, the number of depredation complaints by private landowners from the elk herds has also increased.  So rather than continue to pay damage claims and to also take advantage of acquiring excellent habitat for elk and other wildlife, NDOW teamed with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to purchase the property for $4 million.  The purchase was completed in November of 1999. 

Included with the land purchase are the ownership of 20.10 cfs /1,896.49 acre-feet of water rights from three main creeks and their tributaries that flow through the property.  The portion of the SVWMA north of the ranch headquarters  (herein referred to as the "north valley area") also has several springs that provide both continuous and intermittent supplies of water. These abundant water supplies allow for the preservation and restoration of a wide variety of fish and wildlife habitats including uplands, wetlands, creeks, and open water areas.  The SVWMA has 27,306 acres of associated Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grazing allotments, as well as on site cultivated and native hay fields, irrigated pasturelands, extensive wet meadows, and other emergent wetland areas.  

Prior to its purchase by NDOW, the SVWMA was intensively managed for cattle.  Water from the three creeks is still diverted into Comins Lake and then used for irrigating the north valley area meadows.  An extensive irrigation system comprised of several main supply ditches fed from the lake and numerous other field and drain ditches, as well as pumped water, has kept the majority of the north valley area as upland and wet meadow.  It is anticipated that once modified, this intricate irrigation infrastructure will allow NDOW the water management capabilities to maintain and restore high quality wildlife habitat for a wide variety of species including big game, small mammals, neo-tropical songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl. 

Click on any photo to enlarge...

In February of 2001, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation requested that the Nevada Waterfowl Association (NWA) join the financial partnership and provide professional services to assist with the restoration of the north valley area.  As a part of those services, NWA donated $30,000  to be matched for a total of $60,000 to be used for the habitat restoration recommendations and their associated costs.

The purchase was accomplished through a cooperative statewide fundraising effort. Donors that helped make the acquisition and protection of wildlife possible at the Steptoe Valley WMA included: Art Attack Gallery, Bosch Motors, Builders Association of Northern Nevada, Elko Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Chapter, Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Ely Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Chapter, Fairweather Foundation, Great Basin Bird Observatory, Las Vegas Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Chapter, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (Reno), Nevada Waterfowl Association, Sierra Nevada Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Chapter, Trout Unlimited (Southern Nevada Chapter), White Pine County Sportsman's Association, Wildlife and Habitat Improvement of Nevada, Tommy Ford, Ted Martin, Harvey Morser, and R. Frank Zimmerman.

Source: Interpretive signs at Steptoe Valley WMA.
"Nevada Waterfowl Association" website.