United States Department of Agriculture 

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Nevada

2010 Annual Report of Accomplishments

Sustaining Agriculture and Local Communities by 

Implementing the 2008 Farm Bill

T wo central Nevada ranchers are restoring 

sage-grouse habitat on public land, thanks 

to technical and financial assistance 

through the NRCS Sage-Grouse Initiative 

(SGI). The project is part of the Nevada SageGrouse Conservation Strategy. Within the 

next 5 years, pinyon and juniper trees will be 

removed from approximately 570 acres of key 

sage-grouse habitat on the east and west sides of 

the Desatoya Mountains. The trees hinder sagegrouse movement from spring to summer range. 

Removing the trees will provide a connection 

between the seasonal habitats. Planned work is a 

cooperative effort between two privately owned 

and operated cattle ranches, the Bureau of Land 

Management, and the NRCS. 

The rancher on the east side of the mountains 

has restored sage-grouse habitat on 150 acres 

of private land over the last eight years. Land 

treated includes degraded riparian areas and 

upland rangeland. Funding available through the 

EQIP SGI is providing an opportunity to expand 

pinyon and juniper treatment to adjacent public 

land which is an important part of the rancher’s 

ongoing effort to restore important wildlife habitat 

and sustain an economically viable cattle operation. 

Restoration efforts are the product of a close 

working relationship between the rancher, Nevada 

Department of Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Nevada Division of Forestry, and NRCS. 

The rancher on the west side of the mountains 

will remove pinyon and juniper trees that the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identified for 

treatment several years ago. The BLM has begun 

treatment on some of the identified acres. Now 

with EQIP funding, the rancher is able to continue 

the work the BLM started. f

Art Villalobos installed a new, highefficiency irrigation system on his farm in northern Humboldt County that 

is increasing his crop production and saving 

water. His previous gated pipe irrigation system 

was about 60 percent efficient. The new pivot 

irrigation system is about 90 percent efficient, 

saving approximately 250 acre feet of water.

Villalobos also likes the fact that he doesn’t 

have to manually adjust the irrigation system. 

“It’s all done electronically, which frees me up to 

work on other things,” he said.

Villalobos worked with the NRCS office in 

Winnemucca to install the new system. Engineering Technician Bill Pellersels evaluated the old 

irrigation system and made recommendations on 

how Villalobos could save water and energy by 

installing the new system. NRCS provided costshare assistance under the 2008 Farm Bill.

Villalobos, along with his father and 

brothers, grows alfalfa hay on several properties 

in Humboldt County. This is the second high 

efficiency irrigation system they have installed 

and he plans to install more. f 

Working Together to Protect Wildlife and Improve the Land

Conserving Water and Increasing Productivity 
 

F or the second year, the Great Basin Plant Materials Center in Fallon has planted a People’s Garden as part of the national USDA program. This year, 

the People’s Garden featured a “Three Sisters” system of corn, beans, and squash 

planted together in the way of the Native Americans in the Southwest. 

The People’s Garden provides a way to teach vegetable production and offers 

a place for members of the community to gain hands-on experience in gardening. 

Eric Eldredge, GBPMC Manager, also conducted demonstrations of furrow and 

drip microirrigation systems.

All vegetables produced in the People’s Garden are donated to charitable 

organizations. Pictured on the left are Gary Pope-Sears, the Pastor of Epworth 

United Methodist Church in Fallon, accepting a donation of produce from the 

People’s Garden for the Daily Bread Kitchen from Jennifer Hesselgesser, NRCS, 

and Jessie Eckert, Lahontan/Stillwater Conservation District. f

Nevada NRCS Conservation Financial Assistance 

During Fiscal Year 2010 (Oct. 1, 2009 - Sept. 30, 2010)

Farm Bill Program Cost Share

Obligated

Number of

Contracts

Acres

Treated

Agricultural Management Assistance $789,156 20 1,113

Conservation Stewardship Program $300,124 17 23,829

Environmental Quality Incentives 

Program 

$7,546,093 101 85,410

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection 

Program

$5,292,500 5

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program $798,987 10 3,812

Totals $14,726,860 153 114,164 Creating Healthy Communities

Apilot project to grow native riparian grasses on existing agricultural land is having terrific results. High Desert Resource Conservation and 

Development, Inc. partnered with Harter Farms, a grower on the Ft. Mojave 

Indian Reservation near Needles, Calif. A five-acre field was planted with 25,000 

plugs of alkali sacaton in April 2010, and the first crop of seed was harvested in 

November. 

The first shipment of seed material was cleaned, producing 101 pounds of 

seed. The seed will be used by the Bureau of Land Management to restore 

land on the Virgin River following salt cedar removal. Harter Farms will begin 

growing a second grass species, alkali scratchgrass, during the spring of 2011. 

High Desert is looking for new growers in the Mojave Desert of Arizona, 

California, Nevada, and Utah to participate in a pilot project. Call Teri Knight, 

Tribal Farmer Raises Native Seed 

RC&D Coordinator, at (702) 262-9047 x 108 if you’re interested. f

Afarmer in Douglas County is really pleased with the results from the high tunnel he installed, thanks to financial assistance under the Agricultural 

Management Assistance (AMA) program. He installed the high tunnel, or “hoop 

house”, in the summer of 2010 to ward off the first frost the area typically receives 

in mid-September. The high tunnel was very effective and extended the growing 

season to mid-November, enabling the farmer to harvest vegetables for additional 

weeks. In addition, the farmer improved the soil with compost and did not use any 

commercial fertilizers or pesticides. 

The 2011 growing season will be even more impressive since the high tunnel 

will be used in the spring and fall. The landowner gave much of the extra produce 

to his employees and to a local food bank, extending the benefits to the community 

of the Carson Valley. 

Five more high tunnels funded by AMA are scheduled to be installed in 2011. 

These will further benefit the communities in Douglas and Washoe Counties by 

providing fresh locally grown food. f

USDA 

Natural Resources 

Conservation Service

Nevada State Office

1365 Corporate Blvd.

Reno, NV 89502

(775) 857-8500 

www.nv.nrcs.usda.gov

Helping People Help 

the Land

An Equal Opportunity Employer 

and Provider

January 2011

High Tunnels Help Local Citizens