Saturday, December 31st, 2011 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
By now I’m sure you’ve guessed it … our #1 highlight for Mono Lake in 2011 was getting the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve removed from California’s state park closure list. It was, first and foremost, a group effort—with Mono Lake Committee members playing a key role in writing and signing thousands of letters and petitions that got the attention of key decision-makers in Sacramento as they were hand-delivered to their offices each week. Finding creative solutions (the working mantra of the Mono Lake Committee) played a key role in the effort, and we are enthusiastic about The Bodie Foundation stepping up (more…)
Friday, December 30th, 2011 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
One of the classic Mono Lake Committee history stories starts something like this … in the late 1970s, Mono Lake Committee founder David Gaines toured tirelessly around California with a carousel of slides and a call to help a dying lake—talking to anyone who would listen. Well, you know the rest of the story … so, clearly, it worked. To this day, we meet people who tell the tale of how they learned of the plight of Mono Lake and joined in the effort through one of Gaines’ slideshows. We continue the tradition by (more…)
Thursday, December 29th, 2011 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 2011 the Mono Lake Volunteers, in addition to their regular work helping Mono Lake visitors have a great experience, played a critical role in helping get the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve off the state park closure list. It is partnerships programs like the Mono Lake Volunteer program that show everyone from legislators to budget keepers that a strong, well-organized, and effective group of volunteers can play a critical role in supporting the work of state parks in protecting resources like Mono Lake while providing essential visitor services for agencies like the Reserve, the National Forest Scenic Area, and non-profits like the Mono Lake Committee.
Under the expert guidance of Volunteer Program Coordinator Janet Carle, the Mono Lake Volunteers (more…)
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 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
Here in the office we call it the Collaborative Aqueduct Modernization & Management Plan, or CAMMP for short. But when we say things like, “Geoff, Lisa, and Morgan are CAMMP-ing,” it’s not what it sounds like. CAMMP is a State Water Board mandated series of facilitated meetings embarked upon by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, the California Department of Fish & Game, California Trout, the State Water Board-appointed Stream Scientists, and the Mono Lake Committee with the goal of working through the details of implementing the scientific streamflow prescriptions issued in 2010 and the associated aqueduct modernization necessary for the aging infrastructure to be able to reach the restoration goals at Mono Lake.
So … what does all that mean? It means that (more…)
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 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
The Committee’s Outdoor Experiences program began in 1994 with visits from two community-based organizations: Mothers of East Los Angeles, Santa Isabel and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps—who were part of the water conservation toilet retrofit program in LA. Who would have imagined that in 2011 we would host 20 groups from Los Angeles and beyond at the Outdoor Education Center here in the Mono Basin? In the program, participants are empowered through work on personal growth and community-oriented activities to build an understanding and appreciation for the Mono Basin/Los Angeles watershed. Through education programs and muscle-powered recreational activities, participants learn that balanced solutions are possible for (more…)
Monday, December 26th, 2011 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
Invasive plant species removal is nothing if not a gigantic task—which is where a whole lot of good, old-fashioned, hands-on restoration stewardship comes in. In 2011 volunteers came out of the woodwork to help tackle the problem of invasive plant species (as well as tree-watering and garbage pick-up)—from participants in the Outdoor Experiences program to the official Mono Lake Volunteers to a group of staff from the Reno Patagonia store to spontaneous local and visiting family volunteers and Mono Lake (more…)
Sunday, December 25th, 2011 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
Best wishes for a joyous and peaceful holiday season….
….and a happy New Year from the Mono Lake Committee.
Sunday, December 25th, 2011 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
You simply must read the fun and heartwarming post by Birding Intern Oliver James, who captures the spirit of the intrepid bird lovers responsible for this feat perfectly. Even if you’re not a birder this is a great story. As it turns out, the crew was so enthusiastic that just days later they did a second Big Day and beat the 150 species with 153, so that’s the new number to beat….
Justin, Chris, and Oliver celebrate a Big Day well done! Photo courtesy of Nora Livingston.
For this and more interesting bird sightings in the Mono Basin:
Saturday, December 24th, 2011 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
Number 8 of the top 11 of 2011 is actually recognition of three major celebrations—the Andrea Lawrence Award Dinner, the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, and the Defender of the Trust Award ceremony. Yee-haw! (more…)
Friday, December 23rd, 2011 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
Number 9 in the top 11 of 2011 for Mono Lake is, well, a controversial one, to say the least. It actually began in December of 2010 when NASA held a press conference to “discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.” The announcement rocked the science community, and the roots of the study were right here in what locals call “Mono muck.” The report stated that a strain of bacteria found in the lake’s sediment was able to live on arsenic and incorporate it into its DNA—the implications are vast. Subsequently there has been much controversy (more…)
