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Current news and events related to Mono Lake, California, and the work of the Mono Lake Committee.
Feature LA Times story on Mono Lake, including photos and a video.
Published: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:56 GMT
As part of our major upgrade and revision of the Mono Lake Website in 2008, we have launched a new Lee Vining Webcam in July 2008. Look for the rest of the new Website to launch by Fall 2008.
Published: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:56:57 GMT
Published: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:45:55 GMT
Daily tours at Mono Lake last until Labor Day. Follow this link for a schedule.
Published: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:45:42 GMT
Mono Lake Canoe Tours occur three times daily on weekends through Labor Day. Learn about Mono Lake from a canoe and support the Mono Lake Committee!
Published: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:50:26 GMT
A new trail is being built this summer from the Scenic Area Visitor Center to the lakeshore at Old Marina.
Published: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:59:39 GMT
Saving the Sierra Radio Documentary. Public Radio program now airing features 20-minute segment on Mono lake's protection and Mono Lake Committee's youth education programs. It can be heard streaming on the Internet (note: Mono Lake segment starts at minute 30).
Published: Mon, 26 May 2008 18:12:11 GMT
Water: H2O=Life is currently at the American Museum of Natural History and is coming to the San Diego Natural History Museum on July 19th. The exhibit features Mono Lake as one of three case studies.
Published: Mon, 26 May 2008 18:11:15 GMT
In an effort to reverse the nationwide disconnect between children and nature, the US Forest Service is trying to get more kids to experience the natural world, beyond the fast-food, video game culture of today’s youth. Called More Kids in the Woods (MKIW), this program awards thousands of dollars in matching funds to outdoor programs around the country. The Mono Lake Committee’s Outdoor Experiences (OE) program received assistance in 2007.
Published: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:12:00 GMT
State budget cuts spare Mono Lake but undermine State Park System. Follow this link to learn how you can help save California's State Parks!
Published: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:18:20 GMT
Mono Lake Committee Field Seminars are now open to the public for registration. Many are full or are filling fast, so register online or on the phone soon!
Published: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:55:20 GMT
40 hours of continuous snowfall brought 2 feet of snow to Lee Vining and even more to June Lake--far more than Mammoth Lakes received!
Published: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:09:12 GMT
Breaking news! The threat of illegal subdivision along Mono Lake’s western shore has ended with the purchase of 90% of the Cunningham property by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA). The land will become part of a proposed land trade with the US Forest Service, assuring that it will be protected in its natural state for future generations.
Published: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:36:35 GMT
The high desert landscape surrounding Mono Lake has moved one large step toward remaining unspoiled with a 3,748-acre gift from The Wilderness Land Trust. The Trust purchased the acreage from a developer in 2005 and donated it July 13th to the Bureau of Land Management, which administers nearby land as Wilderness Study Areas. Join us for a celebration from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Saturday September 8th, 2007.
Published: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:17:23 GMT
Storm Over Mono, by John Hart, is the best book on the Mono Lake story. Unfortunately, it just went out of print this year. Luckily, you don't have to wait until a new updated version is produced--you can read it online! The online version is missing the photos, but the wonderful story is there.
Published: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:58:28 GMT
On a weekend in late April, ironically close to Earth Day, Lee Vining resident and Friends of the Inyo Executive Director Paul McFarland found himself chasing down three motorized dirt bikes that were illegally riding on the Lee Vining Creek trail below town. To make matters worse, the off-highway vehicle enthusiasts continued on towards the shore of Mono Lake at Old Marina, laying down deep treads of damage on the fragile shoreline and even venturing into the shallow lakeshore waters before continuing up to the US Forest Service Visitor Center.
Published: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:31:01 GMT
On Friday, May 25th, 2007, the Inyo National Forest celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
Published: Wed, 30 May 2007 00:25:51 GMT
The State Water Resources Control Board visited Mono Lake at the end of April. The focus was on how things are going since the Mono Lake Water Rights Decision 1631 and the Restoration Orders 98-05 and 98-07. These orders mandated higher lake levels and stream and waterfowl habitat restoration.
Published: Tue, 01 May 2007 17:36:15 GMT
The already lengthy story of the 112-acre property in the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area has just begun a new chapter: the Cunningham family owns the property once again after two years of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) ownership. A letter sent by their realtor confirms their intent to attempt to subdivide it for a resort home development. Not only is subdivision of the steep, scenic hillside a bad idea, but such an action would also be a direct violation of the federal law protecting the Scenic Area surrounding Mono Lake.
Published: Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:17:22 GMT
What do you value about Mono Lake? Share your thoughts on our new Value Blog! This Webpage has our planned new formatting--look for the full Website revision this fall!
Published: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:49:48 GMT
The Mono Lake Committee and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) have jointly submitted a Status of Restoration Compliance Report to the State Water Resources Control Board. This comprehensive document summarizes and categorizes all of DWP’s restoration requirements ordered under Decision 1631 and Orders 98-05 and 98-07.
Published: Mon, 05 Mar 2007 01:45:45 GMT
Frances Spivy-Weber of Redondo Beach has been appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board. She served as the Executive Director for Policy for the Mono Lake Committee from 1997 until last September, and currently works for the L.A. Mayor's office. The Mono Lake Committee wishes her congratulations and the best in her ongoing work guiding California to a sustainable water future.
Published: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:07:27 GMT
The California Academy of Sciences currently has an exhibit on life in extreme environments. Mono Lake is featured under "Saline Lakes." Mono Lake has a pH of 10 and a salinity more than double that of the Pacific Ocean. Anything that can survive in these conditions is considered an "extremophile." Most of Mono Lake's extremophiles are microbes.
Published: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 22:58:12 GMT
Updated: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:59:30 GMT
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Older News:
Mono Lake Victory! EPA abandons effort to
eliminate air quality standards at Mono Lake!
Tue, 26 Sep 2006
Thanks to Mono Lake supporters, the EPA heard loud and clear that the
severe air pollution problem at Mono Lake MUST remain subject to
federal regulations. EPA heard our concerns for Mono Lake, and they
listened. On September 21, EPA announced that they would make NO
CHANGES to the standards that apply at Mono Lake!
New Zealand Mud Snail not found in Rush Creek!
Historic Water
Conservation Measures Advanced by Water Utilities and Environmental
Groups
1976 Ecological
Study Group: 30 Years Later
New
Trail Proposed from Visitor Center to Mono Lake
Cedar Hill Saved
by Land Trust
For several years the Mono Lake Committee has kept a careful watch on
the pristine 3,700-acre parcel northeast of Mono Lake (click for PDF
map). Known as Cedar Hill, the private property has been for sale for
several years. Proposals for the property have included subdivision
and development, a trade with the Bureau of Land Management, and most
recently purchase by the highest bidder at auction.
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BE A TIOGA PASS RUN VOLUNTEER
It’s that time of year again -- we’re looking for 7 folks who can help staff the aid stations for the Tioga Pass Run on Sunday September 10th, 2006! There will be 3 different volunteer groups helping at the run, all working approximately 3 hours. I have some details about the groups and start times below. In general, this is a fun and easy event to help with – the main tasks are cheering the runners on along the way and as they cross the finish line, and handing them water or a Gatorade type drink as they make their way up Tioga Pass. Skip Harvey of Base Camp Café is one of the event’s main organizers and will again donate gift certificates to Base Camp Café to those volunteering. And proceeds will again benefit the Mono Lake Committee!
Here are the different groups and needs:
Team 1 (2 people): 6:30 am: Report to Start line if front of Mono Lake Committee in Lee Vining. At 8:15 am Team 1 moves to the aid station at mile 6.
Team 2 (3 people): 7:30am: Report to aid station at mile 1. Set up aid station and operate until sweep vehicle passes. Two volunteers will control traffic at the intersection of the Utility Road and Route 120 until all runners have passed. 8:20 am: Move to aid station at mile 9. Set up aid station and operate until sweep vehicle passes.
Team 3 (2 people) : 8:00am Report to aid station at mile 3. Set up aid station and operate until sweep vehicle passes. 9:00 am: Move to finish line at Tioga Pass entrance station.
The tables and supplies for aid stations will be waiting for volunteers at each aid station. Volunteers don’t need to bring anything but themselves and clothing suitable for a variety of weather conditions as upper aid stations may be cool and windy, and it could also be warm, bright and sunny!
Please let
know if you can help
at (760) 647-6595.
HELP PULL INVASIVE PLANTS
Are you planning a visit to the Mono
Basin this May? Join the Mono Lake Committee for a spring restoration day
and get your hands in the dirt! On May 13th 2006 volunteers will be heading
down Lee Vining Creek to dig up bouncing bet and replant native
vegetation. Enjoy warm spring temperatures, hard work, and good company
during this restoration day. Meet at the Mono Lake Committee Information
Center & Bookstore in Lee Vining at 10:00 am; we will walk to Lee Vining
Creek from there. Contact Policy Coordinator Clare Cragan (
)
at (760) 647-6595 if you’re interested in helping out. Tools, gloves,
snacks, and a lesson in invasive plant ecology provided; just bring
sunscreen, water, and shoes and clothes you can get dirty. This event
boasts the best views of the Mono Basin both large and small.
Mono Lake Committee
- Audubon California - California Trout
Invite you to
Join us in Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Groundbreaking Mono Lake Agreement
Tuesday, September 28, 2005
4:00 – 6:30 p.m.
California Environmental Protection Agency
1001 “I” Street
Sacramento, California
Old timers and those in charge now: Terry Tamminen and James Strock, Secretaries of CalEPA; Art Baggett and Marc Del Piero, Chairs of State Water Resources Control Board; Mike Chrisman, Mary Nichols, Doug Wheeler, Resources Secretaries; Richard Riordan, Mayor of Los Angeles and currently Secretary of Education; Ruth Galanter, former Los Angeles City Council; Assemblymen Tim Leslie and Dave Cogdill; Martha Davis and Geoff McQuilkin/Frances Spivy-Weber, Jim Edmondson and Brian Stranko, Dan Taylor and Glenn Olson; Attorneys Bruce Dodge, Richard Roos-Collins, Mary Scoonover, Tom Birmingham, Cynthia Koehler, Joe Sax; Peter Vorster; Tom Cahill…
Mono Lake Committee Member Sponsors
Randy L. Arnold Dr. Seeley Chandler Rich & Rita Glenn, Jr.
Edward J. Hard Monte Ikemire
Ed & Maria Manning Frances Spivy-Weber Allen S. Trux
Official Winery: Grape Links, Inc. / Barefoot Cellars
Water from Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
2005 Mono Lake Committee Calendars
Art and Phyllis Baggett, and their son, Fritz, will play great music, too!
The 1994 State Water Resources Control Board decision 1631 guides Los
Angeles in limiting diversions and restoring the ecological function of
Mono Lake and Mono Basin streams and wetlands. The Lake level is up 7 feet
from 1994, and must rise over 10 feet more to reach the target level.
Birds and fish are responding to re-watered streams and wetlands. Los
Angeles residents and businesses are doing their part by conserving over
100,000 acre feet of water each year.
This agreement is working, and the hard work of all
individuals, organizations, and agencies involved is saving Mono Lake, a
valuable resource and an important symbol of California’s wild heritage.
Please share this with others. RSVP to
or 310-316-0041.
SIGN UP TO KEEP UP ON SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVATION ISSUES
The Sierra Nevada Alliance sends out a free electronic update with news articles, information, and events, regarding conservation and sustainability issues happening in or relevant to the Sierra. This "Alliance Sierra Weekly" is emailed out every Wednesday. The Sierra Nevada Alliance, a nonprofit organization, has been protecting and restoring Sierra land, water, wildlife and communities since 1993. The Mono Lake Committee is a member of the Alliance. The weekly is a service for those who love the Sierra to keep abreast of conservation issues happening throughout the range.
To sign up: email Kathy at sierranevadaalliance.org. Put in the subject line "Sign up for Weekly". In the body of the email include your name, address, city, zip, phone and email. Your contact information will not be sold or given to another group or business, but will be used solely for communications with the Sierra Nevada Alliance. For more information email Kathy or phone (530) 542-4546. Visit www.sierranevadaalliance.org for more information on the Alliance.
CALFED UPDATE
November 2002
In the closing hours of the 2002 Congress, Senator Feinstein got a two-sentence bill passed. The first sentence authorized the Secretary of Interior and other federal agencies to participate in the Bay-Delta Program through fiscal year 2005. The second sentence, however, allowed the Federal agencies to pick and choose the Authority projects they would fund. This second part was not good, and many environmental groups, including the Mono Lake Committee, were able to stop a vote on the bill in the House. Undoubtedly, new 2003 federal legislation will be introduced, and we will work to see that it reinforces the importance of making sure the water system we have works better before we try to expand it or create something new. We have high hopes for the long term success of CALFED. Thank you for signing the letters to Senator Feinstein and Congressmen Calvert and Miller. Watch our Website (www.monolake.org) for updates in 2003.
NEVADA SENATOR
HARRY REID HOSTS SUMMIT
TO SAVE WALKER LAKE
Sierra Club Director Carl Pope and other leaders convene in
Hawthorne, NV
What: Public meetings and tours to provide national, statewide and
regional representatives with information on the current condition of Walker
Lake and how to save it. Attendes will include representatives from Congress
and the Nevada Legislature, the California and Nevada governors' offices,
Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, the Walker River Tribe, Mono Lake Committee, national and local conservation
organizations, local farmers, and others.
When: Wednesday April 3, 2002. Breakfast at 7:30; meetings begin at 8 and run until noon.
Where: Hawthorne Convention Center, 932 E Street, Hawthorne, NV.
D.W.P. Conservation Easement Idea Put on Hold
The Wildlands Conservancy has withdrawn their proposal to protect 300,000 acres of DWP land in the Eastern Sierra due to lack of support from the Owens Valley and Los Angeles. There is still support for permanently protecting the lands, but the current framework for the conservation easement is being dropped.
April 17, 2001 L.A. Times Article
Mono Lake Committee Press Release
Two weeks ago the Nevada Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the Walker Lake Working Group's petition for a writ of prohibition and writ of mandamus under the Public Trust Doctrine. WLWG has not heard from the court yet, but just getting heard was a milestone. The Mono Lake Committee filed an amicus brief: see the Winter 2001 Mono Lake Newsletter for details.
Last week there was a continued hearing before the Nevada State Environmental Commission on setting water quality standards for Walker Lake. The folks upstream put on very expensive and emotional presentations on why standards should not be set, or if set, should be a sliding scale that would put the lake on the brink of collapse. It was a very close vote, 5 to 4, with one abstention, but standards were adopted. The standard for TDS is higher than WLWG would like to see, but is sufficient for the good health of the trout and chub in the lake. They are delighted with the commission's action. Although it won't force water to the lake, having a standard is another lever to use in the battle to preserve the lake.
Update provided by WLWG. For more information or to offer much-needed support, contact:
Walker Lake Working Group
PO Box 867
Hawthorne, NV 89415
www.walkerlake.org
Fire at Mono Lake: Reintroducing a vital natural process
On January 6, 1999,
firefighters from Inyo National Forest, Sierra District State Parks in Tahoe, and the Mono
Lake Tufa State Reserve gathered to perform an experimental prescribed burn on the
south-eastern shore of Mono Lake. Approximately 20 acres were burned as part of a Forest
Service plan which looks into the possibility of re-instating a historical burn regime on
a larger scale in the Mono Basin in the near future. There is increasing evidence and
awareness of how imitating natural burn regimes can keep ecosystems healthy, and can be an
effective tool in land management practices. Carefully monitored fires burn away older
vegetation, making room for new growth as well as for
new
waterfowl habitat in the marsh areas on the lake shore. Native Americans in the area were
believed to have burned approximately every three years to encourage use by waterfowl for
hunting as well as for the growth of certain reeds used in basket making. Today state and
federal agencies are focused on bringing waterfowl populations closer to historical,
pre-diversion numbers, and controlled burns are one of the ways they are looking at to
restore their habitat.
For more information on the burn see David Carle’s article ‘Flames on Ice’ from the January 28th edition of the Mammoth Times. top
Los Angeles City Council votes to keep water-saving ordinance
The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-4 yesterday (2/3/99) to keep in place an ordinance sponsored by Ruth Galanter that requires people selling homes and apartments to have installed ultra-low flow toilets at the time of resale. This ordinance saves water, which is good news for Mono Lake and the Santa Monica Bay. It creates jobs, which is great for the six Los Angeles community groups that distribute free toilets. And the ordinance also saves ratepayers and the city a lot of money. In 1998 Los Angeles was using no more water than it did in 1972, thanks in part to voluntary installation of low-flow toilets. Now these water savings should double over the next five to seven years. top
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