USDA Report on Water and Related Land Resources, Central Lahontan Basin, Nevada-California

Excerpts from the report: The Central Lahontan River Basin is located in Eastern California and Western Nevada. Its boundary encompasses an area of approximately 16,658 square miles, with 5,352 in California and 11,306 in Nevada. The Basin drains part of Alpine, Eldorado, Lassen, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, and Sierra Counties in California and Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe Counties in Nevada. It is approximately 216 miles long from north to south and 129 miles from west to east at the widest point. It is bound on the west by the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range crests to various mountains and ranges on the east. The Basin covers the Walker, Carson, Truckee, Honey Lake Valley, Eagle Lake, Smoke Creek Desert, and Madeline Plains drainage systems in California and Nevada as shown on Map 1. For ease of identification, the Honey Lake, Eagle Lake, Smoke Creek Desert, and Madeline Plains systems collectively comprise the Calvada Subbasin. The Walker, Carson, and Truckee systems are each described as separate subbasins. The primary objective of USDA participation in the Central Lahontan Type IV Investigation is to facilitate the coordinated and orderly conservation, development, utilization, and management of the Basin’s water and related land resources. As indicated by the stated objective, output from this investigation will be utilized within USDA to evaluate resource development possibilities relative to established programs such as Public Law 83-566 and multiple use planning and management of the National Forest System lands. The information developed during this study will also assist the management and planning on state and private lands and to assess the possibility of new programs. Output from this investigation will also be provided to other agencies for use in their resource development planning efforts. USDA procedures for planning water and related land resources have been utilized in displaying USDA potential opportunities or plans for each of the four subbasins. Each plan presents opportunities that primarily fulfill one or more of the multiple objectives. The discussions also include a detailed physical description of the identified projects and programs.