Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part series focusing on land and preservation issues pertaining to Hungry Valley, located north of Sparks.

Tribune/Sarah Cooper

Tire tracks and broken signs are a common sight in Hungry Valley, where residents of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony live and worry about the long-term effects users are having on the sustainability of the land.

By Jessica Mosebach

jmosebach@sparkstribune.net

When they look out over the barren land of Hungry Valley, Scott Nebesky and Arlan Melendez see a dusty plain ridden with trails, gunshell casings and signs that have been knocked down and ignored.

On the other hand, they see an opportunity to help preserve a piece of northern Nevada's Native American heritage.

"We've been environmentalists ourselves," said Melendez, tribal chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony (RSIC). "We're really concerned about plant and animal life and the trees. ... We know through our ancestors it is the crossing of Indian tribes. There were many tribes crossing that area that went out to California and Susanville and Tahoe."

The colony's Hungry Valley land is about 1 mile wide by 3 miles long with about 400 residents. The parcel hosts a small subdivision of 150 homes, along with a gym, community center and Head Start program for children.

Protecting and preserving the land in Hungry Valley is important for protecting his people's culture, Melendez said. Misusing the land could lead to destruction of artifacts such as tribal petroglyphs or undiscovered objects like arrowheads.

The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony is immediately interested in maintaining the sustainability of the land - specifically the land's ability to absorb water into aquifers.

However, with every dirt trail that off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders use or create, the dirt on the ground is displaced, causing erosion and degenerating the earth's ability to absorb much-needed water into the local aquifers.

"This place is absolutely inundated with trails," said Nebesky, the planning director of the colony. He referred to a map that shows Hungry Valley's proximity to Sparks, Reno, Golden Valley, Sun Valley and Antelope Valley. "We want to manage the basin for its natural resources: the water.

"As much as a single track compacts that soil or a motorcycle compacts that soil, a lot of this (dirt) is a fine clay," he said. "(Water) doesn't get into the ground, and it most likely evaporates because the longer it's up on surface, the least likely it's going to be able to store water."

The majority of trails follow the contours of the area, but some travel straight up hills, contributing to the erosion.

Hungry Valley has attracted attention from various groups who want to keep it available for recreation, such as the Friends of Hungry Valley (FHV), which consists of local citizens, some of whom ride dirt bikes and OHVs.

However, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, while not opposed to the use of these vehicles, would like to see more aggressive management of the land that would keep a closer eye on the designated areas of these activities.

Ultimately, the Bureau of Land Management's Carson City office assumes supervision of Hungry Valley. But with 5.3 million acres to oversee and only one ranger and one law enforcement officer to patrol the area, monitoring the OHV use on the lands is nearly impossible at this time, according to Mark Struble, public information officer at the BLM's Carson City office.

"It's a whole different ball game trying to manage the intensive use (at Hungry Valley)," Struble said. "It's frustrating to the tribe, we know."

The problem is "frustrating" to the RSIC and FHV groups, both of which have a vested interested in preserving the open space.

Nebesky emphasized that the colony has similar goals to the FHV, which is interested in helping to take better care of the area. The colony, in its desire to preserve the natural terrain of the land, only opposes where the OHVs are being used.

"We're not out to eliminate OHV use on public lands," he said. "That's a recreational use that many people, including tribal members, participate in. But our homes are fixed to the ground. OHVs have wheels; they can move to other locations. Why not work out a situation where OHV use is limited?"

The formal government of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, which represents the Paiute, Shoshone and Washoe tribes, was formed in 1935. The colony's downtown property, located in Reno at Glendale Avenue and Colony Road, includes a smoke shop and other buildings for the needs of the colony. The colony has owned the Reno property since 1917.

Protecting the tribes' culture can be difficult when the land they occupy is threatened by irresponsible use, Nebesky said.

"One of the biggest challenges we have in urban interface is abuse of public lands either by dumping or illegal or irresponsible OHV use or shooting," Nebesky said.

Nebesky said Washoe County identified Hungry Valley in an area for potential future development in light of anticipated growth over the next 20 years.

Melendez said decisions on such growth should not be made without the tribal council's input.

"We have a real concern with any type of planning. ... We are trying to make sure that we protect what's really near us," Melendez said.

But Melendez said the space in Reno is not sufficient to serve the Native American population in Reno and Sparks, which is the reason the colony acquired the Hungry Valley property.

"The tribe is always looking for a larger land base because of the overcrowding here on the downtown colony, which was 28 acres originally," he said. "There was no room for growth and many of the families were stacking up."

In the early 1980s, the tribe considered moving to 160 acres of land in Stead, but Congress denied the move because of potential interference with any high-rise building or cell towers with the Reno Air Races. Finally, Hungry Valley became a feasible location.

"(The colony) looked at many different land parcels and I think Hungry Valley fit what the tribe was looking for as far as a pristine valley that had wildlife and certain plants that were important to the culture," he said.

The tribe asked for 5,000 acres in Hungry Valley, but other community members protested and the Native Americans received only 1,960.

"It ended up being a little bit of discriminatory attitudes - not with everybody, but there were a few people," Melendez recalled.

Nebesky said the tribe hopes to "re-establish cultural lifeways and traditions" that may have been lost through the urban growth that has occurred in recent years.

Melendez argues the area has been "desecrated" due to irresponsible use of the land and lack of willingness to clean up the litter people create in the valley.

Nebesky said despite what many may think, protecting the land and its natural resources is the colony's priority without seeking profits or personal gain.

"Our intent is to preserve this area and to maintain the growth in our existing community," Nebesky said. "We're not out to develop the land or put in a casino.

"We're investing in this valley as much as anyone else."