Water and wildlife

The Nevada Wildlife Commission has come out against the effort by Clark County to take water from eastern Nevada and western Utah. It called on the state water engineer to deny permitting for the application by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

“Entering into an agreement with SNWA is like shooting yourself so you can pick out what color coffin you want to be buried in,” Wildlife Commissioner Scott Raine of Eureka said in a prepared statement. “When we are talking about mitigation, it will be impossible to reverse the effects of the groundwater mining.”

The deadline for public comment on the water applications passed last week, and state water engineer Jason King is expected to make a decision on them in March 2012.