Humans are the only species who can grasp the concept of extinction. If extinction is inevitable, will people go extinct? Do our conservation efforts at Ash Meadows and elsewhere ultimately delay our own extinction? What does it mean when a species goes extinct as a result of human activity?

We save what we like. Dogs and cats will probably never go extinct. Do we like naucorids? Bees? Moths? Bats? Pupfish?

Why are we more likely to save charismatic species like bighorn sheep or pintail ducks? Can we think of a naucorid as majestic?

Why should we preserve wildlife that isn’t directly useful to people living in Pahrump or Amargosa Valley?

What is more important: Preserving a single species? Or, keeping the habitat they rely on in intact?

Must conservation necessarily be at loggerheads with economic development?

Why are there so many unique endemic species at Ash Meadows? In the last 50-100 years, were there even more unique species at Ash Meadows? If so, why are there less now?

Do pupfish eat more mosquitoes than mosquito fish?

If the pupfish is bright blue for mating, isn’t also bright blue for predators? What’s the benefit? (What are the pupfish’s natural predators?)

Pupfish are perfect Nye county citizens: fiercely independent, willing to fight for their turf--plus, they are the real old-timers of Nye County.

Why did the Devil’s Hole pupfish lose its pelvic fins?

How come a wayward cormorant, heron, or pelican doesn’t wipe out an entire spring pool’s fish?

What’s the difference between the Amargosa and Warm Springs pupfish?

What is the value of the hybrid Devil’s Hole and Amargosa pupfish?

Is there any interaction between dace and pupfish? Poolfish and pupfish?

What physiology allows pupfish to live in extreme environments?

What other kinds of fish were and are found in the Amargosa river system?

Is there any evidence that desert tortoise currently use any refuge land? Where?

How many reptile species live on the refuge?

Why is there no endemic amphibian species of Ash Meadows?

When was the last sighting of the Amargosa vole? Is it truly gone?

What makes the jack rabbit such a successful desert dweller?

Do coyotes spread mesquite through their scat? How extensive (deep and long) are coyote burrow systems?

How many species of bats are found at Ash Meadows? Are any of these subspecies (trinomial) endemics?

Were there wolves on Ash Meadows? Were there pronghorn? In modern times?

Did the introduction of cows, burros, and horses affect desert bighorn sheep, antelope and deer? What was the impact of wild horses on Ash Meadows?

Are the quail here isolated from other regional populations? Do they constitute an evolutionary significant unit? Do any refuge birds?

Where am I almost always guaranteed of seeing a roadrunner on the refuge?

Did peat mining on the Carson Slough adversely impact waterfowl numbers?

Which orders are poorly represented at Ash Meadows? Why? Which orders are richly represented?

Do we have a complete inventory of snails on the refuge?

What is the lifecycle of the spring snail? Naucorid? What do they eat? What specifically is their habitat need? Why are they endangered? Are they recovering? What is the biggest “unknown” about snails and naucorids?

Did any group of people eat pupfish, dace, or poolfish?

How were wildlife species found here used by native people?

What critter, flower, plant, view is the prettiest on the refuge?