Derby Diversion Dam Washoe County   39.58925, -119.44829

"I think the largest fish I've ever caught in the Truckee River was around this spot, about a quarter mile south of this dam. The lower Truckee Is crowned with lots of slackwater, ideal for big bruiser Brown Trout, Carp, and Catfish. For as long as I can remember, this marker has always stood here, and although I've acknowledged it in the past, reading its text was never a part of my interest. Needless to say, that has changed. #43, a hidden little marker right off the interstate, records an important event that single-handedly allowed commercial agriculture to the Silver State. What's funny is that while this marker praises the Newlands Reclamation Project, it fails to acknowledge its life-altering impact on Pyramid Lake to the north, specifically, the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Nevada's State Fish. After diversions began here on the river to send water eastward to the Lahontan Valley, lake levels at Pyramid began to recede, so much in fact that Pyramid's native fish population was wiped out. Gone. Kaput. What took eons to evolve, man had destroyed within a year. It's only after re-introduction of Lahontan Cutthroat from Walker Lake that this endangered fish species was saved and the great fishery continues (better than ever) at Pyramid Lake. As an angler, my allegiance stands against Newlands. As an historian, however ... my allegiance is torn, commanding steadfast neutrality." -- Journal Entry, August 2007

Exit 36 from I-80, then 1 mile east along Frontage Road, 20 miles east of Sparks
Today, the marker is currently missing.

Original Date Visited: 8/14/07

Signed: No

Notes: Finding this marker can be a bit tricky. Leave the interstate at Exit 36 and turn right (westbound) onto a very discreet frontage road that hugs the freeway. Proceed 1 mile to the marker on your left. From here, more adventure awaits you! The frontage road loses pavement just past the marker and makes a swift left underneath the railroad tracks to access the dam itself. The road is extremely rough and not worth the trouble since visitors cannot access the dam anyway. Keep in mind that at least a dozen exits in the Truckee River Canyon are there for a reason. Use them to find some very pretty and secluded points along the river!