*>EPA Science Forum

Paritiering tofitot&Zt Jftiman fJ&tltltand rhe Environment

Land cover is predominantly sagebrush step with single leaf Pinon Pines and
Juniper in higher elevations. TheTruckee River corridor is easily distinguished
from land cover and imagery in this high elevation arid environment.

Year of
Thirty	Years

Through Partnering

Location map of Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (PLPT)
Reservation in northwestern Nevada.

£/hanges in the landscape affect wildlife habitat,fire condition,
rangeland economics, culturally sensitive areas and aesthetic values.
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (PLPT), in cooperation with federal, state
and local entities, has been able to increase stream
flow, establish water quality standards and improve
fish habitat in theTruckee River. As seen in the
.M'V	Landsat imagery from July 25,1972, and July 27,2000,

representing 28 years of change, lake level and
riparian habitat have increased.

In the 1972 image, the red splotches seen in
Pyramid Lake are Nodularia blooms
(blue-green algae). Nodularia fixate nitrogen
from air and Truckee River inputs. Decomposition
of the Nodularia is considered the primary source
of dissolved organic nitrogen to Pyramid Lake.
Blooms can occur in all parts of the Pyramid Lake
from August to early November.

Truckee River headwaters in LakeTahoe,
Sierra Nevadas,and terminates
into Pyramid Lake.

PLPT environmental
program goal
is recovery of the
Lahontan Cutthroat
Trout fisheries.

Paiute Tribe Study Area Land Cover

Stone Mother
tufa formation

Pyramid Lake has high calcium
carbonate concentrations, which
precipitates out of solution creating
large tufa formations.

Stone Mother tufa formation.
The pyramid, which the lake
is named after,
is a tufa formation.

Petroglyphs near Lake Winnemucca. Prior to
1920 and the Newlands land
Reclamation Project, Pyramid Lake was
80 feet higher. At higher lake levels,
Pyramid Lake overflowed into
Winnemucca Lake, which is now dry.



Petroglyphs

Truckee River upstream of Lockwood

Needles Geyser, Pyramid Lake

Truckee River below the Nixon Bridge

Partnering to Protect Human Health

-J: J

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