These restoration plans will form the blueprint for restoration and monitoring activities over the next ten to twenty years, and they will shape the recovery of the Mono Basin for many years beyond that.

As this issue of the Mono Lake Newsletter goes to press, we have just begun to analyze the Board's order in detail. In general, many aspects of the order are good news and incorporate provisions agreed to by DWP, the Committee, and many others in a Settlement Agreement that was put before the Water Board last year (see Summer 1997 Newsletter).

The draft decision approves:

• seasonal high flows for Rush, Walker, Parker, and Lee Vining creeks (these flows are still somewhat short of flows recommended by scientists who worked on the original restoration plans)
• reopening of certain abandoned stream channels in Rush Creek to benefit both stream and waterfowl habitat
• extensive monitoring of stream recovery
• annual aerial monitoring of waterfowl and waterfowl habitat.

Most importantly to the Committee, the draft order reinforces the importance of the 6392-foot lake level established by the Water Board in 1994, stating that "by far the most significant restoration of waterfowl habitat in the Mono Basin will occur due to the rising water elevation at Mono Lake and restoration of flows in the tributary streams as required by Decision 1631."

The Water Board did not include the Mill Creek restoration proposal in its draft decision. It deemed the proposal to be outside the scope of the restoration proceeding, since pursuit of the proposal would involve several land management agencies and changes to established water rights. The Water Board also cited opposition to the proposal by many Mono Basin residents.

The Committee was disappointed. Mill Creek offers an outstanding opportunity to bring back a thriving riparian and deltaic wetland system to the Mono Basin. We believe it could be rewatered without sacrificing other resource areas, through carefully managing water and implementing water efficiencies. But it was difficult to convince members of the Mono Basin community that the Mono Basin landscape--particularly its historic ranch meadows--would not change drastically.

In setting aside Mill Creek, the Water Board focused its attention instead on restoring waterfowl habitat at County Ponds, natural depressions which lie downslope of the north shore's DeChambeau Ranch and which will be relatively close to Mono Lake once it reaches its target lake level. Rewatering County Ponds was an element in the Settlement Agreement's restoration plan, but considered of secondary importance to restoring Mill Creek. (Historically, and in the Water Board's draft order, Mill Creek is the source of the water used to fill the ponds.) The County Ponds proposal was advocated by the Mono Basin residents who opposed rewatering Mill Creek at the expense of Wilson Creek.

At press time, we are evaluating the finer points of the Water Board's draft decision in preparation for the September 2 hearing. If no party appeals the decision--the Committee does not expect to--we could have the final order as early as October. We'll keep you informed.