Touting ‘big win,’ conservation groups drop suit over axed Ash Meadows lithium project

In a hard-fought victory for conservation groups in Nevada, federal land managers have agreed to provide public notice for all new exploration or mining projects near the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge for the next 12 months.

On Friday, the Center for Biological Diversity and Amargosa Conservancy agreed to drop their lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management over the agency’s approval of a lithium exploration project near the refuge, after the federal land managers agreed to their terms.

The federal agency initially approved a lithium exploration project by Canada-based Rover Metals to drill up to 30 exploratory boreholes just north of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a critical wetland habitat that supports a dozen endangered and threatened species.

Two weeks later, federal land managers rescinded their approval after they determined that a lithium exploration project less than a mile from the refuge would likely cause damage to the groundwater that feeds the meadows.

“This announcement is a big win for the plants and animals of Ash Meadows and the whole Amargosa Valley,” said Scott Lake, Nevada staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. 

Conservationists say the agreement will close a legal loophole that does not require the BLM to post a public notice for approved exploration projects under five acres — at least for the next year.

Under federal law, exploratory projects under five acres on public land are not required to submit a plan of operation, complete an environmental analysis, or solicit public comment. 

“The notice agreement adds an extra layer of protection,” Lake said. 

After a review of the rescinded lithium exploration project earlier this year, the BLM said if Rover Metals wanted to continue the project, the company would be required to produce a plan of operations, which would be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act process, and would require consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as stipulated in the Endangered Species Act.

“Ash Meadows is an internationally recognized site of incredible biodiversity, with over a dozen species that exist nowhere else on Earth. Rover’s reckless plans posed an existential threat to the refuge and its groundwater-dependent ecosystems. We’re grateful the Bureau of Land Management did the right thing by rejecting this terrible project,” Lake continued.

Currently, there are several dozen mining claims surrounding Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Rover Metals is the first company to attempt to develop their claims in the Amargosa Desert, but conservationists warn they won’t be the last. 

“While this settlement agreement marks a huge victory for our organizations, the communities of Amargosa Valley, and the precious wildlife of Ash Meadows, the area remains highly vulnerable to impacts of potential mining activities,” said Mason Voehl, Executive Director of the Amargosa Conservancy.

Amargosa River, the lifeline of the refuge, runs below ground for much of its 180-mile course, but in the stretches that reach the surface, the river supports endemic species that depend entirely on springs fed by the fragile groundwater aquifers.

At least twenty-five species of plants and animals are only found in the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, one of the highest concentrations of endemic species found in the United States, including the Devil’s Hole pupfish, according to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Opponents of the project argue that lithium mining operations in the Amargosa Valley would likely intersect with groundwater aquifers adjacent to the wildlife refuge, negatively impacting groundwater-dependent species.

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service listed groundwater “reduction and manipulation” within central Amargosa Desert as a major threat to the Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish due to the level of connectivity between the aquifer fed springs in Ash Meadows.

Changes in groundwater flow and elevation could also affect the temperature and chemical content of springs in Ash Meadows, according to the service.