PETITION TO PROTECT THE AMARGOSA BASIN
Keep Water Where Life Depends on It
Prohibit Water-Intensive Data Centers on Public Lands Surrounding Amargosa Valley and Crystal, Nevada
We, the undersigned residents, landowners, visitors, and supporters of the Amargosa Basin Water and Wildlife Alliance, respectfully call upon federal, state, and local leaders to prohibit the construction of data centers on public lands surrounding Amargosa Valley and Crystal, Nevada.

The Amargosa Basin is unlike anywhere else in the world.

Our communities survive because of a finite groundwater supply that has sustained people, ranches, wildlife, and spring ecosystems for thousands of years. Every home, every business, every farm, every desert spring, and every living thing here depends on this shared resource.

Unlike many parts of the country, we cannot simply drill another well or import more water. Once this groundwater is depleted or damaged, it may take centuries—or longer—to recover.

At the heart of our basin lies Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, recognized as the "Galápagos of the Southwest." The refuge protects one of the greatest concentrations of endemic species in North America, with plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. These species survive only because ancient groundwater continues to feed the refuge's crystal-clear springs.

The groundwater beneath Amargosa Valley and Crystal is not separate from the groundwater that sustains Ash Meadows. It is one interconnected system.

Industrial data centers threaten that balance.

Modern data centers operate around the clock and generate enormous amounts of heat that must be continuously removed. Many facilities rely on evaporative cooling systems that consume significant quantities of freshwater every day. In an arid desert basin already facing long-term water challenges, this additional demand places unnecessary stress on an irreplaceable groundwater supply.

Beyond water consumption, large data centers introduce other impacts that are incompatible with our rural communities.

Industrial cooling equipment, ventilation systems, emergency generators, and electrical infrastructure operate continuously, creating persistent mechanical noise that changes the quiet character of the desert. These facilities also replace natural landscapes with expansive buildings, pavement, and electrical infrastructure that absorb and release heat. This contributes to localized heat island effects, increasing surrounding temperatures while reducing the cooling benefits of open desert land.

For communities like Amargosa Valley and Crystal, where summer temperatures routinely exceed 100°F, additional industrial heat is not a minor inconvenience—it is another burden on residents, wildlife, and fragile desert ecosystems.

Public lands belong to the American people.

These lands should be managed to protect water resources, wildlife habitat, recreation, scenic landscapes, and rural communities—not converted into industrial campuses whose demands on water and infrastructure could permanently alter the Amargosa Basin.

We are not opposed to technology or economic development.

We support responsible development that respects the limitations of the desert and protects the resources upon which existing communities depend. However, industrial projects that require substantial water consumption in one of the driest regions of the United States are fundamentally incompatible with the long-term health of the Amargosa Basin.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that all appropriate federal, state, county, and local agencies:

Prohibit approval of new data centers on public lands surrounding Amargosa Valley and Crystal, Nevada.
Recognize groundwater protection as the highest priority for land-use decisions within the Amargosa Basin.
Require comprehensive, independent hydrologic studies demonstrating that any proposed industrial development will not reduce groundwater availability or impact spring discharge.
Consider cumulative impacts—including water consumption, noise pollution, waste heat, energy demand, wildlife habitat fragmentation, and impacts to nearby communities—before approving any industrial development.
Protect the groundwater resources that sustain Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, local residents, agriculture, ranching, recreation, and future generations.
The Amargosa Basin is more than a place on a map.

It is our home.

It is one of the most biologically significant desert ecosystems on Earth.

It is a living landscape where groundwater creates life in a region defined by scarcity.

Once these waters are gone, they cannot simply be replaced.

We ask our elected officials and public land managers to choose conservation over irreversible industrialization and ensure that the waters of the Amargosa Basin continue to sustain Amargosa Valley, Crystal, Ash Meadows, and future generations of Nevadans.

Protect our water.

Protect our wildlife.

Protect the Amargosa Basin.