Tribe studies restoring Winnemucca Lake

The lake dried up in 1938, 30 years after the Newlands Project began taking water from the Truckee River to irrigate crops in the Fallon area.

Tribal Chairman Norman Harry said restoring the lake would give back something that was taken away from the tribe years ago.

Harry said along with Pyramid Lake, Winnemucca Lake played a vital role in the tribe's survival.

While the tribe depended on Pyramid Lake for fish, Winnemucca Lake was ringed with tules and populated with water fowl. The tribe hunted ducks there and used the tules for food and to make baskets, clothing and shelter.

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