New water development atlas unveiled
In the mid ‘80s, the Nevada Department of Wildlife began printing a small publication that included maps showing the location of water developments (referred to as guzzlers) for the southern region of Nevada.
Guzzlers are metal and fiberglass structures built in suitable wildlife habitats designed to collect rainwater and provide an additional source of water for wildlife of all types and sizes.
In the late ‘90s the book developed into a statewide publication that included 68 pages of black and white maps that showed the location of the state’s water developments and basic topography of the area.
This year, NDOW went back to the drawing board and completely redesigned the Water Development Atlas into an exceptional new tool for sportsmen and wildlife enthusiasts.
The new Wildlife Water Development Atlas includes 160 full color, detailed map pages covering the entire State of Nevada.
Each map page is drawn at 1:144,000 scale (one inch on the page is approximately equal to 2 and quarter miles on the ground), which means that each map now offers much more detail than any previous Water Development Atlas. In addition to showing the location of both big and small game guzzlers, the book now includes land management status information and UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates for GPS (Global Positioning System) use.
“There is so much more information in this new book. Not only the roads but the land access is an important addition. It is so much more detailed it’s ridiculous,” said Chris Vasey, outdoor educator at NDOW. “I would definitely recommend this to every type of hunter. It’s such a valuable resource out in the field.”
You can purchase the new Nevada Wildlife Water Development Atlas for $50 from your nearest NDOW office and take your choice of more than 1,600 guzzlers to visit.
The book is also a valuable tool for wildlife enthusiasts. Upland game like chukar, sage grouse and rabbits use the water developments, as do big game like deer, bighorn sheep and antelope. Even other non-game species, such as lizards, bluebirds and kangaroo rats frequent these developments.