In Nevada, a desert oasis shelters 26 species found nowhere else on Earth. In Australia, shallow spring pools sustain an extraordinary community of unique fish, snails and other invertebrates. In the Indian Himalaya, springs supply water to nearly 50 million people. These remarkable ecosystems are the focus of the , launched at the À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ at Lake Tahoe, to help protect some of the world’s most distinctive and imperiled freshwater habitats.
Hosted by the Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability, the October “Springs of Life” workshop brought together international researchers, conservation organizations, policy specialists, representatives, and À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, Reno faculty and students. Participants established a road map to identify the world’s most important spring ecosystems, assess threatened species and translate scientific knowledge into protection of springs and the groundwater that sustains them.
“A single spring can be its own unique underwater world, home to an entire suite of species that exists nowhere else on the planet,” said Chouly Ou, freshwater fish conservation specialist at and workshop co-organizer. “We want to find and protect these places before they disappear, and support the people whose water, livelihoods and cultural traditions depend on them.”
From Lake Tahoe to conservation action worldwide
The goal of the alliance is to connect existing expertise and datasets with government agencies and local partners. The workshop established initial areas of work, including identifying irreplaceable springs, assessing threatened species and ecosystems, coordinating contributions to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Red List of Ecosystems, securing recognition for priority sites, and using assessments to guide protection of spring flows and groundwater sources, habitat restoration, invasive species management, monitoring and investment with communities and government partners.
“The first challenge is knowing what we stand to lose, including the creatures small enough to escape our notice,” said Joseph Holway, assistant director at the and workshop co-organizer. “A survey that overlooks snails, aquatic insects or tiny crustaceans may overlook the very species that make a spring globally important. Connecting records and expertise will help us find those places and act before their biodiversity disappears.”
The Alliance’s initial program includes the IUCN Global Springs Task Force, with a four-year agenda spanning inventories, biodiversity and threat assessments, conservation priorities and practical guidance. The workshop builds on an IUCN Resolution on springs, adopted at the 2025 World Conservation Congress.
For Nevada, these goals connect directly with the conservation of Ash Meadows and other desert spring systems that sustain rare plants, springsnails, aquatic insects and fish such as the Moapa dace. Participation by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, alongside University faculty and students, brings state wildlife management experience into an international effort and connects emerging researchers with urgent conservation needs.
“Nevada shows how much is at stake in a very small patch of water,” said Zeb Hogan, research professor at the À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, Reno and workshop co-organizer. “By bringing this expertise together at Lake Tahoe, the University and the Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability are helping launch an effort that can protect thousands of extraordinary places, prevent extinctions and safeguard water sources that people depend on.”
This workshop was organized by the À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, Reno, the IUCN Species Survival Commission Freshwater Conservation Committee, Saint Louis Zoo, Springs Stewardship Institute, SHOAL and Re:wild. In the future, the Global Springs Alliance will seek participation from Indigenous and local knowledge holders, groundwater scientists, wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, community groups and funders.
