The work is unfolding in a remote stretch of desert in southern Nevada, where the tributary winds through a system that eventually feeds into the Colorado River, a critical water source for millions across the Mountain West.
Reaching the site takes nearly an hour and a half on foot through rugged terrain.
The route crosses thick stands of invasive tamarisk, open desert washes carved by seasonal flows, and eventually the Virgin River itself. It then climbs over the burned remains of the 2023 Huntsman Fire, which scorched roughly 400 acres of vegetation, leaving behind exposed soil and ash.
Much of the area has been shaped by fire, invasive plants and grazing pressure, which have altered both the habitat and how water moves through the landscape.
“We’re walking on some pretty salty soils. Salty soil really impedes restoration,” said Lilly Setters, a botanist with the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Setters said those conditions have made it harder for native vegetation to return.
Fencing shows early signs of recovery
At the edge of a restoration site, a fence cuts across a small dry creek bed — part of an effort to keep cattle out of sensitive streamside habitat.
Inside the fenced area, Setters says native riparian plants are beginning to return.
“I can see inside the fence an increase in the abundance of native riparian vegetation. And on the outside the fence, there’s not the same density and cover of that desirable native vegetation,” she said.
The habitat supports rare species, including the Southwestern willow flycatcher, and fish, such as the Virgin River chub.
Setters said the effort is only the first step in a longer restoration process that includes invasive plant removal and water management improvements designed to slow runoff and increase soil absorption.
Within weeks of the Huntsman Fire, the BLM secured nearly $450,000 in emergency stabilization and recovery funding, she added.
Partnerships aim to rebuild native habitat
Setters said the effort now brings together federal agencies, conservation groups and restoration crews working to replace invasive tamarisk with native cottonwoods, willows and mesquite.
The goal, she said, is to improve wildlife habitat while strengthening a watershed that eventually feeds the Colorado River, a key water source for much of the Mountain West.
“When you do work like this, it’s very tangible,” said Adria Surovy, a western water specialist with the National Wildlife Federation. “You see the results. And this is something we can do to protect our community and make it more resilient for what’s to come.”
Natasha Majewski with the Nevada Wildlife Federation said drought conditions in past years have even made parts of the watershed difficult to recognize on the ground.
“I’ve never gone searching for a river,” she said. “If you can imagine no water… or just pockets of water and fish kind of flopping around in it.”
Signs of regrowth, and what comes next
Despite the damage from fire and drought, native plants are beginning to return, including arrowweed, a tall, dense shrub that grows along desert waterways.
Setters said the spread of arrowweed is a positive sign of recovery.
“This arrowweed has gone gangbusters in this area, and I’m actually really happy,” she said. “We don’t see any bare ground. We don’t see any of that thick, salty crust.”
That kind of regrowth, she said, suggests the ecosystem is starting to function again.
Looking ahead, Setters said the goal is to scale up restoration work across similar waterways, using fencing, vegetation planting and water-slowing structures to rebuild habitat over time.
But she also cautioned that progress will take years — and continued funding — in a region growing hotter and drier with climate change.
In the end, she said, restoration here is measured in small changes: a fence line, a patch of green, and the slow return of a river corridor trying to recover.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNR, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
