Walker Lake is dying, and Nevada is running out of time to save it.

Once a vibrant, life-supporting lake, Walker Lake has been drained and poisoned by more than a century of upstream overuse. Its shoreline has retreated over 150 feet. Fish are gone. Birds no longer return. What remains is a shrinking reminder of how easily Nevada’s most precious resource can be squandered.

This is not just a Mineral County problem. It is a Nevada problem.

Walker Lake is part of our state’s identity and history. In the driest state in the nation, allowing a million-year-old lake to collapse from neglect is a failure of stewardship that affects wildlife, tribal communities, rural economies, and future generations. When water is over-promised and under-protected, the damage does not stay local.

Local residents, scientists, and the Walker Lake Paiute Tribe have been sounding the alarm for decades. Small businesses have disappeared. Recreation has vanished. Yet the state continues to treat this as a distant issue instead of a crisis demanding leadership.

This petition calls on Nevada’s Governor, the Nevada Legislature, and the State Water Engineer to take immediate, coordinated action to save Walker Lake. That means committing to a long-term restoration plan with clear water recovery goals, enforcing existing water laws, and dedicating state resources to protect terminal lakes before they reach ecological collapse.

Saving Walker Lake will not be easy. It will require balancing competing interests and making hard choices. But choosing to do nothing is also a choice, one that guarantees permanent loss.

Nevada cannot afford to keep sacrificing its water heritage piece by piece. If Walker Lake disappears, it will not be the last.

If you believe Nevada has a responsibility to protect its water, its wildlife, and its rural communities, add your name and demand action now.