The Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance (LVEA) has spent the last year coordinating a Centennial Celebration of the Newlands Project. The Celebration officially began in June of 2002 and culminated in March of 2003. The celebration included several events, hosted by various community groups, as well as many educational activities. The extensive and diverse facets of the celebration were planned to work in concert to provide opportunities for citizens of Western Nevada to gain an appreciation for a unique time in history and to see the effects of reclamation on our country.

The LVEA was created in 1993 by an interlocal agreement between Churchill County, the City of Fallon, the City of Fernley, Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, and the Stillwater and Lahontan Conservation Districts. The Alliance has worked to educate the public and coordinate efforts to protect the natural resource based economy of the communities in the Newlands Project in Northwestern Nevada. For the past ten years the LVEA has continued to bring together the various interests to build a strong knowledge base and to improve communications between the communities, stakeholder groups, local governments, and state and federal agencies, who are all involved in or affected by the complicated water issues of the region. The LVEA provides the community the opportunity to speak with "one voice" while still respecting the individual sovereignty of each of the contributing and participating entities.

The Newlands Project was one of the first projects authorized upon the passage of the Reclamation Act by congress in 1902. By joining the Truckee and Carson Rivers to irrigate land in the Lahontan Valley, the federal government set into motion the development of a successful agriculture industry in Lyon and Churchill Counties. The unintended result of the Reclamation Act has been a culture of conflict and uncertainty, brought about by the intense competition for the limited water resources of the area. Neighbor has been pitted against neighbor, local governments against state and federal governments, Native American Tribes against farmers, and agencies of the federal government against each other over their internal missions. These conflicts have resulted in miscommunication, extensive litigation, and contentious relationships between all interests involved. The goal of the Centennial Celebration was to create an atmosphere of understanding and tolerance where all interests could gain an appreciation for the positive effects the Newlands Project has had in the local community as well as the greater western United States.

It was the vision of LVEA that, as a result of the Newlands Celebration, residents of Western Nevada and Eastern California would recognize and value the role of the Newlands Reclamation Project in the development and settlement of the Western United States. The multiple celebrations provided opportunities for non-agricultural residents to experience first-hand the positive aspects of western irrigation projects, as well as to experience current rural life in Western Nevada. The celebrations also increased the awareness of the central and pivotal role of the Newlands Project in opening the door for similar projects all over the West, and raised awareness of the current economic and positive community impacts of the continued operation and maintenance of the Newlands Project. The educational portions of the celebrations allowed for open discussion of the impacts the Reclamation Act has had on Tribal resources, wetlands, and other environmental concerns.

The LVEA worked with the various Newlands Celebration working groups to develop, design and implement a series of events and activities that would achieve this vision. The working groups spent much of their time and resources developing broad community support for the celebrations. These groups included Churchill County, the Cities of Fallon and Fernley, Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, the Fallon Convention and Tourism Authority, Bureau of Reclamation, Churchill Economic Development, Churchill County Museum, Newlands Water Protective Association, Farm Bureau, University of Nevada, Cooperative Extension, the Chamber of Commerce, the Fallon Tribe, US Fish and Wildlife, Nevada Division of Wildlife and Nevada State Parks. Many other community and service groups made an organized and concerted effort to positively place the Newlands Project in the minds of area residents.

The Centennial Celebration was officially kicked-off on June 14, 2002, with a "Dam Celebration" that was held at the Lahontan Reservoir and included local entertainment, plenty of food, hot air balloons and fireworks. Over the next 10 months, several other events were held and hosted by various community groups. There was a Centennial Celebration held in Fernley for the 4th of July where Ernie Schank, President of TCID, along with Betsy Rieke, Area Manager for the Carson City Bureau of Reclamation Office, were the Grand Marshals of the annual parade. In August there was a Congressional Tour of the Valley and Community Picnic held in coordination with the Churchill Arts Council event at the newly-restored Oats Park Art Center.

The final, and most permanent, project to come out of these celebrations will be a Mobile Museum that will be created by converting a Mayflower moving van. After the renovations and construction, this portable classroom/museum will be available to local schools, community groups, festivals, or to anyone who has an interest in learning more about the past, present and future of the Newlands Project.