Community of place

Tony Hiss’ words speak to the growing awareness of place in our lives, of how integral the natural world and the environment is to our long-term well-being, and to sustainable communities.

For me, the Mono Lake story amply, and wonderfully, illustrates many of the principles and potentials for sustainable communities, assuring our deep sense of place. Many of us who live here watched as the lake lowered, dust storms increased, and streams dried up. One felt a sense of diminishment—of the land, of our spirit, and our place. Now with the lake rising, and the battle to save Mono Lake won, there is a sense and feeling of abundance and well being.

With revitalization of the streams has come a revitalization of the community. Both economically as well as in the greater sense of community. People came together to build a stream walk along Lee Vining Creek, and a community garden, and an old school house got moved from the outskirts of the town into the town park for use as a museum.

The entrepreneurial spirit as well has been revitalized! New businesses have been built and new business people are purchasing motels and restaurants. Not all of this rests easy with everyone and the struggle is to maintain the type of growth that recognizes, and respects, the significance of the restoration of Mono Lake’s ecosystem.

Tourism, the County’s and the Eastern Sierra’s economic engine, has shown large increases. The Mono Lake decision must be credited for a substantial portion of it. Mono Lake is the most frequently visited destination in the Eastern Sierra with over 100,000 visitors.

The importance of the Basin’s environment and ecosystem is further illustrated in its recognition by local, state, national, and international organizations. The Public Trust decision in 1983, which said that the public trust values must be protected, is one of the most important aspects of the Mono Lake Committee’s success. It sets the standard by which future water resource decisions will and must be made, balancing the human needs with the needs of the natural systems. The 1990 designation of Mono Lake as a member of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network and its membership in the Living Lakes organization says that we are connecting to a larger community of place.

The attention that has been focused on Mono Lake and the Mono Basin has furthered other actions in Eastern Sierra. One example is the Coalition for Unified Recreation in the Eastern Sierra, or CURES. Comprised of private businesses, chambers of commerce, the environmental community, and federal, state, and local government, the group cumulatively represents the major recreation providers in Eastern Sierra. The Mono Lake Committee is among their membership. CURES has come together "in an effort to preserve the natural, cultural, and economic resources, and enrich the experiences of visitors and residents." CURES created the Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway along 240 miles of Highway 395. There are 34 interpretive stops with kiosks which showcase the unique cultural and natural history of the region while acquainting visitors with community. These are efforts which further the vision of CURES: "A sustainable environment is the cornerstone of recreation and tourism, which are the foundations of the area’s healthy economy."

The Mono Basin, Lee Vining, the Eastern Sierra: this community of place we call home and share with our visitors is richer, and indeed more abundant because of the efforts to identify and preserve the unique characteristics of our land and our culture. Our experience of place informs us, and indeed does "force us to learn that our ordinary surroundings, built and natural alike, have an immediate and continuing effect on the way we feel and act" … and most certainly, "on our health and intelligence."