Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 by Arya, Communications DirectorcloseAuthor: Arya, Communications DirectorName: Arya Degenhardt Title: Communications Director About: Arya oversees the Committee's communications program, which includes the Mono Lake Newsletter. She loves her job because she gets to share the inspiring work of the Mono Lake Committee with members and visitors alike. When she's not in the office you might find her running with her dogs Dublin and Poco, volunteering with the Lee Vining Fire Department, listening to any music with a banjo in it, or willing the plants in her garden to grow. Her favorite things to do in the Mono Basin include ice skating on nearby lakes, skiing the Mono Craters, and getting to smell the sagebrush when it rains.See All Posts by Arya (91) Contact Arya
In the fall of 2009 Richard Roos-Collins was presented with the Mono Lake Committee’s Defender of the Trust Award which acknowledges outstanding work protecting the Public Trust. His remarks at the award ceremony are included in the 2011 Mono Lake Calendar.
South Tufa, Mono Lake. Photo courtesy of Joel St. Marie.
I am truly humbled and grateful to be a member of the team that won one of the greatest environmental cases of the past century.
This victory resulted from the efforts of many scientists, attorneys, and advocates who contributed in countless ways over more than 20 years of active litigation. Some are present tonight: Sally Gaines, founder of the Committee and Director; Martha Davis and Geoff McQuilkin, (more…)
Saturday, December 25th, 2010 by Arya, Communications DirectorcloseAuthor: Arya, Communications DirectorName: Arya Degenhardt Title: Communications Director About: Arya oversees the Committee's communications program, which includes the Mono Lake Newsletter. She loves her job because she gets to share the inspiring work of the Mono Lake Committee with members and visitors alike. When she's not in the office you might find her running with her dogs Dublin and Poco, volunteering with the Lee Vining Fire Department, listening to any music with a banjo in it, or willing the plants in her garden to grow. Her favorite things to do in the Mono Basin include ice skating on nearby lakes, skiing the Mono Craters, and getting to smell the sagebrush when it rains.See All Posts by Arya (91) Contact Arya
Sending you best wishes for
a joyous and peaceful holiday season
and a happy New Year
from the Mono Lake Committee
Your support keeps water flowing down Mono Basin streams,
Mono Lake rising, and the Mono Basin recovering and thriving.
As we near the end of 2010
we would great appreciate your tax-deductible
year-end donation.
We will put your gift toward our work to achieve
the maximum benefit for Mono Lake, its tributaries,
and surrounding lands in 2011.
Year-end donations can qualify you for
a Mono Lake Calendar, notecards, or
a new regional geology book.
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 by Geoff, Executive DirectorcloseAuthor: Geoff, Executive DirectorName: Geoffrey McQuilkin Title: Executive Director About: Geoff's goals for the Committee are: assuring Mono Lake's continuing protection, restoring Mono Lake's tributary streams, developing a permanent education program, and assuring that the strong tradition of scientific research at Mono Lake continues. A graduate of Harvard in the history of science, Geoff has worked for the Committee since 1992 and was an intern and volunteer before that. He's happy to live close to the lake with his wife Sarah and their daughters Caelen and Ellery.See All Posts by Geoffrey (105) Contact Geoffrey
Rays of light pierce winter storm clouds above Mill Creek and Mono Lake. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.
As the year draws to a close many non-profit organizations send out a snowstorm’s worth of emails requesting year-end donations. Here at the Mono Lake Committee we take a more modest approach, but the bottom line is the same:
Donations from members and friends are what power the Mono Lake Committee’s successful protection, restoration, education, and science programs.
Today—right now—is the perfect time to make a year end gift to benefit Mono Lake. We even make it easy to do online, plus we have fantastic limited-time thank you gifts.
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 by Geoff, Executive DirectorcloseAuthor: Geoff, Executive DirectorName: Geoffrey McQuilkin Title: Executive Director About: Geoff's goals for the Committee are: assuring Mono Lake's continuing protection, restoring Mono Lake's tributary streams, developing a permanent education program, and assuring that the strong tradition of scientific research at Mono Lake continues. A graduate of Harvard in the history of science, Geoff has worked for the Committee since 1992 and was an intern and volunteer before that. He's happy to live close to the lake with his wife Sarah and their daughters Caelen and Ellery.See All Posts by Geoffrey (105) Contact Geoffrey
Bacteria gathered at Mono Lake can substitute arsenic for phosphorus in their DNA, reported a NASA science team led by Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon earlier this December. The remarkable finding—no other organism on earth is known to do this—drew a huge amount of public attention worldwide (for example, see our wrap-up of network news coverage). It was pretty darn exciting for those of us here at Mono Lake as well, since we know many of the researchers and fielded a deluge of calls after the announcement.
The significance of this finding is tremendous. In short, it changes (more…)
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 by Rosanne, Office DirectorcloseAuthor: Rosanne, Office DirectorName: Rosanne Catron Title: Office Manager About: Originally from Bishop, Rose's easy-going, friendly personality make her perfectly suited for her role as Office Director. Rose creates the complicated bookstore schedule, oversees the intern and volunteer programs, and keeps office relations smooth and happy.See All Posts by Rosanne (34) Contact Rosanne
Will you be passing through Lee Vining during the holidays? Come visit us! We will be open from 9 am to 5 pm, with the following exceptions:
Friday, 12/24: Open 9 am to 1 pm only.
Saturday, 12/25: Closed all day.
Monday, 12/27: Closed all day.
Saturday, 1/1/2011: Closed all day.
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 by Greg, Information & Restoration SpecialistcloseAuthor: Greg, Information & Restoration SpecialistName: Greg Reis Title: Information & Restoration Specialist About: Since his Committee internship in 1995, Greg has been involved with Mono Basin stream restoration and with maintaining the Committee's computers, Websites, and Research Library, and researching and compiling information for our programs. His B.S. degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Forestry and Natural Resources with a concentration in Environmental Management and a Senior Project in Hydrology reflects his interest in natural resources management, administration, planning, environmental analysis, and restoration. He is a member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals and the California Society for Ecological Restoration.See All Posts by Greg (134) Contact Greg
From Friday through Monday a very wet storm dropped copious amounts of rain and snow, totaling 5.66 inches of water content (in about 20 inches of snow) in Lee Vining, 2.93 inches at Cain Ranch, and 11.5 inches at Gem Pass. Snow levels were between 6,000 and 8,000 feet Friday through Sunday. Since Sunday night when the cold front (more…)
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 by Rosanne, Office DirectorcloseAuthor: Rosanne, Office DirectorName: Rosanne Catron Title: Office Manager About: Originally from Bishop, Rose's easy-going, friendly personality make her perfectly suited for her role as Office Director. Rose creates the complicated bookstore schedule, oversees the intern and volunteer programs, and keeps office relations smooth and happy.See All Posts by Rosanne (34) Contact Rosanne
Did you know there are two ways to shop and support Mono Lake at the same time?
The first is to visit our online store—we have a unique selection of gifts and books, and 100% of the sales benefit the Mono Lake Committee.
This week's winter storm at the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.
You can also help support the Mono Lake Committee while you are shopping at Amazon! Just visit Shop For Mono Lake, click on the link to Amazon, and with each and every Amazon purchase you make the Mono Lake Committee will get 5% of the sale. Keep in mind—you have to click on the link through Shop for Mono Lake in order to give the Mono Lake Committee 5%, so you may want to bookmark the page: www.shopformonolake.org. Every time you shop, you’ll be helping Mono Lake as well.
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 by Greg, Information & Restoration SpecialistcloseAuthor: Greg, Information & Restoration SpecialistName: Greg Reis Title: Information & Restoration Specialist About: Since his Committee internship in 1995, Greg has been involved with Mono Basin stream restoration and with maintaining the Committee's computers, Websites, and Research Library, and researching and compiling information for our programs. His B.S. degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Forestry and Natural Resources with a concentration in Environmental Management and a Senior Project in Hydrology reflects his interest in natural resources management, administration, planning, environmental analysis, and restoration. He is a member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals and the California Society for Ecological Restoration.See All Posts by Greg (134) Contact Greg
GFAJ-1 bacteria.
Ron Oremland with the US Geological Survey has been studying elements and microbes in Mono Lake for a long time. Staff with the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve and the Mono Lake Committee have been in contact with him in order to help the interpretive partnership at Mono Lake (National Forest Scenic Area, State Natural Reserve, and Mono Lake Committee) develop interpretive materials to explain NASA’s arsenic bacteria discovery to the public. You can read 24 scientific papers on arsenic and Mono Lake(more…)
Sunday, December 19th, 2010 by Elin, Communications CoordinatorcloseAuthor: Elin, Communications CoordinatorName: Elin Ljung Title: Communications Coordinator About: Elin's job consists of some of her favorite things: finding typos, experimenting with layouts, and figuring out how best to communicate the Committee's work to the world. She also oversees the Field Seminar program. Elin is an EMT on the Lee Vining Fire Department, loves sitting at Latte Da Coffee Cafe immersed in a good book, and watches English Premier League football (soccer) at any opportunity.See All Posts by Elin (133) Contact Elin
As a warm winter storm drops feet of snow onto the Sierra, road conditions are becoming increasingly more treacherous. We welcome the water for Mono Lake, but please be careful if you have to drive!
Earlier today Highway 395 closed over Conway Summit (between Lee Vining and Bridgeport) due to whiteout conditions, and we’ve just gotten word that the Nevada highway patrol has closed Highway 167 at the state line, and the California highway patrol is turning people around at the junction of Highway 395 and Highway 167.
Check the road conditions website often if you are traveling in the Eastern Sierra or planning to visit. You can also call 1-800-GAS-ROAD to find out the latest road conditions.
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 by Julia, Mono Lake InterncloseAuthor: Julia, Mono Lake InternName: Julia Runcie Title: Mono Lake Intern About: As a native of the diminutive Green Mountains, Julia is completely in awe of the Sierra but has to admit she sometimes misses real maple syrup. After her 2010 summer internship she stayed through the winter as a Project Specialist, and is now a Mono Lake Intern for her second summer. In her free time, Julia loves to hike, cook, write, and uproot invasive weeds.See All Posts by Julia (42) Contact Julia
Thanks to the combined efforts of volunteer translators Milena Jovicic-Longnecker and Barbara Weibking, edits from Lee Vining local and native German speaker Stella Moss, and layout design by communications coordinator Elin Ljung, informational brochures about Mono Lake are now available in German. Our numerous German-speaking visitors will now be able to read about the Lee Vining Creek Trail, the Mono Lake Committee, and the natural history of Mono Lake in their own language. Watch this page for the German brochures coming soon…. Besuchen sie den Mono Lake!
