The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center has closed for the winter and will reopen on April 1, 2011.

In the meantime, you can stop by the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore every day from 9:00am to 5:00pm. For information about wilderness permits and trail conditions, you can call the Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center, which is open from 8:00am to 5:00pm daily: (760) 924-5500.

ISS image of Mono, Walker, Tahoe, Pyramid lakes with Western Nevada and California to the Pacific. Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth."

NASA recently reported that Earth’s largest lakes have warmed in response to climate change. While Mono Lake is not a data point in this study, its neighbors to the north—Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe—reveal a small upward trend in warming. In December 2009 NASA revealed that Mono Lake, among other lakes in the region, was warming (more…)

On Wednesday, December 1 the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore and the Mono Lake Committee offices will be closed all day for our annual staff retreat. On Thursday we will be open as usual from 9:00am until 5:00pm.

From all of us here at the Mono Lake Committee, thank you.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we feel thankful for your generous donations, faithful support, views of our website, comments on our Mono-logue posts, visits to our Lee Vining headquarters, phone calls from far away, emails asking about our work, and above all, for your love for Mono Lake. Thank you and happy Thanksgiving.

Eared Grebes pepper Mono Lake's surface in this view through a spotting scope. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

Researcher Sean Boyd with the Pacific Wildlife Research Center recently finished tallying up the results of the October 13th Eared Grebe survey on Mono Lake. No easy task, since the only way to come up with an accurate estimate is to laboriously count the tiny grey specks in each of about 500 aerial photos of the lake surface. Once Mr. Boyd has converted the raw numbers to densities (#/km²), adjusted for scale, and extrapolated based on the current surface area of the lake, he can provide a final count.

This year the survey resulted in a total of (more…)

Last night at around 8:00pm the blustery winds of our first big winter storm gave way to a peaceful evening lit by a full moon. Though at first we were daunted by the prospect of digging my car out of eight inches of snow, OE Instructor Rosa and I decided we had to take advantage of the clearing weather and the fresh powder. (more…)

Thursday was my last day in the field before a well-advertised storm was to drop 1–3 feet of snow in the Mono Basin. As I drove down to Rush Creek, the winds were picking up, snow was blowing off Sierra peaks, and lenticular clouds graced the late-afternoon skies.

Rush Creek bottomlands, a day before the storm hit.

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) had just lowered the flows in Rush Creek and Lee Vining Creek, and I was checking to see if certain side channels were still flowing, as well as checking on a few other things before the expected deep snow made travel to the streams difficult. (more…)

Cartoon courtesy of Jennifer DiMase.

As you plan your holiday travels, don’t forget to swing by the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore for books, gifts, T-shirts, jewelry, and a dose of all things Mono! Over the Thanksgiving holiday, our hours of operation will be:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: open 9:00am–5:00pm
Thursday, Thanksgiving Day: closed
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: open 9:00am–5:00pm

We look forward to seeing you! Happy Thanksgiving.

It has been a long-time dream of mine to host an educational outing specifically for the local Latino residents, and recently my dream came true. Narcisso, Pina, and Hugo found time away from their busy work schedules to tour of the northern end of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and South Tufa.

Touring the Lee Vining Creek diversion facility ... in Spanish!

The fun part for me was doing the whole tour in Spanish. Although I do work with Spanish-speaking students all the time, I have not done an entire tour in Spanish in a while. (more…)

It’s citizen science, it’s for the birds, and it’s always a lot of fun … why not join in one of the two upcoming Christmas Bird Counts?

Mono Basin Christmas Bird Count
Tuesday December 21, 2010
Contact: Kristie Nelson

Bishop Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Contact: Chris Howard

Regional bird data is critical to species and habitat protection efforts around the globe, and participating in these bird counts is a great way to make a difference while connecting with regional bird enthusiasts.

Love bird watching? Consider joining in the long tradition of Christmas Bird Counts this year. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.

More on National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts at Mono Lake.

More on National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts.