Nevada

3 rare species found in NV may warrant endangered species protections, say feds

Published

2 years ago

January 28, 2024

3 rare species found in NV may warrant endangered species protections, say feds

Jeniffer Solis
| Nevada Current

On Wednesday, federal wildlife managers announced that three rare species found in Nevada may warrant federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.

Following a three-month review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, government officials say they’ve found substantial evidence that a flower, a toad, and a rabbit who call Nevada home may be eligible for listing.

Those species are the Railroad Valley toad — one of the smallest western toad species, the white-margined penstemon — a rare perennial plant restricted to the Mojave Desert, and the pygmy rabbit — a small rabbit found in the Great Basin, according to Nevada Current.

Based on the review, federal wildlife officials will conduct a one-year status review to either approve or deny listing proposals for the three species.

Isolated from other toads by miles of arid desert, the Railroad Valley toad is confined to a single spring-fed wetland habitat across 445 acres of land in Nye County.

Under their review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found there were credible threats to the rare toads’ existence that warranted further analysis, including oil and gas extraction in Railroad Valley, and proposals for lithium extraction.

Federal land managers also concluded that protections for the white-margined penstemon — a small flower that grows on sandy washes and stabilized dunes — may be necessary due to habitat loss from land development, climate change, and the degradation of habitat due to off-highway vehicle use.

The rare wildflower only grows in four counties across the Mojave Desert: Clark and Nye counties in Nevada, San Bernardino County in California, and Mohave County in Arizona.

Both the white-margined penstemon and the Railroad Valley toad were considered for federal protections after the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the federal government to list the species under the Endangered Species Act.

Conservationists say the rare wildflower’s survival is threatened by urban expansion under the proposed Clark County lands bill and the advancement of the proposed Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport. The Nye County population of the flower in the Amargosa Desert is also threatened by transmission line construction and fast growing solar energy development, said Patrick Donnelly, the Great Basin director at the Center.

“The Bureau of Land Management and Nevada politicians are letting all manner of industries run roughshod over our public lands, putting the Silver State’s remarkable biodiversity in jeopardy,”Donnelly said. “The Endangered Species Act is the most successful conservation law in the world at preventing extinction, and it’s our best chance to save the white-margined penstemon and the Railroad Valley toad.”

Federal wildlife officials said they would also further evaluate whether the pygmy rabbit warranted federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.

After being petitioned by several conservation groups — including the Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, and the Defenders of Wildlife — wildlife managers said a compound of wildfire, cheatgrass, and climate change may warrant further protections for the rabbit.

The small Great Basin rabbit lives in sagebrush habitat across central Nevada, eastern California, southwestern Utah, southern Idaho, southwestern Montana, southeastern Oregon, and southern Washington.

The pygmy rabbit population in Washington’s Columbia Basin has been listed as endangered since 2003, but following their review the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that listing the pygmy rabbit range wide, as a threatened species or an endangered species, may be warranted.

“I’m relieved that these vulnerable species are moving one step closer to getting the life-saving protections they need,” said Donnelly. “As climate change rages and habitat destruction devastates public lands, Nevada is on the front lines of the extinction crisis. If we don’t act to save the state’s rare plants and animals, they’ll disappear forever.”

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Nevada

Gas prices climb in northern Nevada amid tensions in the Middle East

Published

5 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Gas prices climb in northern Nevada amid tensions in the Middle East

$3.99 on Sunday, $4.09 just days later.

An extra dime for the same gallon of gas, but why?

Conflict in the Middle East has impacted prices at the pump for drivers here in northern Nevada and across the country.

According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas has jumped nearly 27 cents since last week, coming in at $3.25. In Reno, the average price is roughly $4.26.

Experts say for every $5 to $10 increase in oil prices, drivers could pay 15 to 25 cents more per gallon.

The increase primarily comes down to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, which controls roughly 20% of the world’s oil supplies. Amid the tensions, traffic through the area has recently ground to a halt.

Michael Goldman, General Manager of Caru Containers North America, said many of the shippers who typically go through the Strait have changed course.

“We’re seeing the routes ships need to take be much longer, much more costly. Going around the Horn of Africa instead of going through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. And we’re definitely seeing cost increases to those carriers to make those journeys,” said Goldman.

Jayce Robinson from Sparks said he’s always looking for the best deal in town on gas.

“I mostly fill up here for work, so it’s not my money, but when I do fill up, I definitely look for the cheapest place because money’s tight and gas is expensive,” Robinson said.

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Nevada

10-month-old found safe, North Las Vegas police cancel AMBER Alert

Published

17 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

10-month-old found safe, North Las Vegas police cancel AMBER Alert

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Authorities have canceled an AMBER Alert after they say a 10-month-old child taken by a non-custodial parent was found safe.

North Las Vegas Police said Thursday that Leilani Williams (aka Leilani Duke) was taken by her father, Roderick Duke.

Duke and Leilani were last seen at an apartment complex in the area of Martin L. King Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue at 1:40 a.m.

“An AMBER Alert has been activated due to Roderick being in emotional crisis and making threats to harm himself and 10-month-old Leilani,” NLVPD said in a statement.

By 10:05 a.m., NLVPD said that Leilani was located unharmed.

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Officers took Duke into custody without further incident, and the AMBER Alert has been canceled.

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Nevada

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to Nevada Democrats in Las Vegas

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to Nevada Democrats in Las Vegas

California Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed Nevada Democrats who packed a Las Vegas brewery Wednesday evening for a discussion about his upbringing, his political life and efforts his state has taken to combat the Trump administration agenda.

Newsom, who has been floated as a possible White House contender for 2028, sidestepped a quip from former Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak who introduced him as the next U.S. president amid cheers from the crowd.

“I’m very grateful for your friendship, and a friendship that’s only strengthened over the course of the last year or so,” Newsom told Sisolak.

Book tour stop

The event, which served as a book tour stop for the California governor, was organized by the Nevada Democratic Party. It took place at Nevada Brew Works near Summerlin.

Nevada Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno, the state party chair running for North Las Vegas mayor, moderated the discussion.

It was part of the party’s Local Brews + National Views series that’s been bringing Democrats for similar discussions at intimate venues. Past speakers have included former President Joe Biden, Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Criticizing President Donald Trump, Newsom spoke about the immediate aftermath of the 2024 general election.

“We were handwringing, a lot of finger pointing, and a sense of weakness,” Newsom said. “And just incapable of dealing with this moment, this existential moment.”

He said he is taking account for what he described as his own complicity.

“This happened on my watch. This is all happening on our watch,” Newsom said. “And so I realized that I needed to be better.”

That included his advocacy to redraw California’s Congressional map after Trump called for the same in Texas, he said.

“They’re not screwing around, nor are we,” he said about Trump and his administration. “All of us.”

‘You’re giving us a voice’

Newsom spoke out against the surge of federal immigration enforcement operations in California and later Minnesota, calls from the Trump administration to nationalize elections, and cuts to government funding due to the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

He said that pushback against Trump’s policies, including dozens of lawsuits filed by California, were making the president retreat on some of his proposals and policies.

“You’re filling the void, you’re giving us a voice, you’re giving us courage,” he told the crowd. “For things to change, we have to change. And it’s changing.”

The Republican National Committee reacted to Newsom’s Las Vegas visit. Earlier in the day, Newsom attended a private Boulder City event.

“Democrats are selling out to the spoiled, phony rich kid governor from California for years,” RNC spokesperson Nick Poche wrote in a statement. “President Donald Trump and Republicans are delivering major tax cuts and keeping Nevadans safe, unlike Democrats.”

The national Republican Party also criticized California’s policies, and tied them back to Nevada Democrats.

Most of Newsom’s remarks weren’t specific to Nevada. He didn’t take any questions from media.

Polling shows Newsom and Vice President JD Vance leading in hypothetical races for their parties’ nomination. That includes a survey of likely Nevada voters conducted one by Emerson College Polling in November.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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