Thursday, December 22nd, 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
Coming in at number 10 in our top 11 of 2011 for Mono Lake is the beloved Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore storefront. It was finally crumbling enough to be threatening structural damage, so, thanks to generous member contributions, in April 2011 we embarked on a mission to renovate the façade’s crumbling stucco. The project included removing the old stucco by blasting it with crushed walnut shells, stuccoing during an extremely variable weather system, installing new night-sky-friendly lighting, and a paint job by our scientific illustrator friend Logan Parsons. We are hoping to complete phase II of the remodel in 2012, which will include handicap access, more comfortable hang-out space for visitors, and even some more space for merchandise outside as well as a water conservation demonstration system and interpretive elements highlighting Mono Lake.
The Mono Lake Committee storefront before the remodel. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.
Wednesday, December 21st, 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
Kicking off the top 11 of 2011 is the fact that it was a very big water year! First there was the snowy winter, then there was the spring that just kept going, and then there was enough rain in August that the lake was still climbing for a water year (October 1–September 30) total rise of 2.1 feet! A big water year means not only (more…)
Tuesday, December 20th, 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
As the year comes to a close, it’s always fun to look back and take stock of what has happened at, around, and for Mono Lake. 2011 has been another amazing year … so amazing, in fact, that we couldn’t fit it all into a “top 10″ list, so we’re doing the top 11 of 2011. We’ll release one highlight each day, complete with new photos from the 2011 archive, here on The Mono-logue for the last 11 days of the year. Stay tuned!
Monday, December 19th, 2011 by Carolyn, Former Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Former Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending summer 2011 as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn stayed through winter 2012 as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (22) Contact Carolyn
The time has come to pick the lucky winners of the 2011 Free Drawing! Last Wednesday, December 14, Mono Lake Committee staff plunged through a box full of thousands of free drawing tickets to pick the 24 winners of a variety of prizes. Prizes included an iPad 2, Canon digital camera, brand new snowboard, and many more exciting items! Check the full list of 2011 prizes here.
Office Director Rose Catron shows off the ticket she pulled from the box.
I will be calling each individual winner in the next week to congratulate them on their winnings, so check your phone, it just might be me calling you with good news! (more…)
Sunday, December 18th, 2011 by Jessica, Information Center & Bookstore ManagercloseAuthor: Jessica, Information Center & Bookstore ManagerName: Jessica Ashley Title: Information Center & Bookstore Manager About: Jess stocks the store with educational, handmade, local, and ecologically friendly merchandise and keeps operations functioning efficiently. After working for a summer in the Committee bookstore, Jess joined the staff full-time in May of 2011. Jess' extensive retail experience and love of the Eastern Sierra make her perfectly suited for her role as Information Center & Bookstore Manager.See All Posts by Jessica (22) Contact Jessica
Happy holidays from everyone at the Mono Lake Committee!
The Information Center & Bookstore will be closed Christmas day, December 25, 2011 as well as New Year’s day, January 1, 2012.
For Mono Lake weather information, click here. Click here for road closures and conditions.
Sunday, December 18th, 2011 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
It has been a cold, dry fall and winter so far in the Sierra Nevada, which means that Tioga Pass (Highway 120) has opened again! When snow has been forecasted the pass closes, but those snowstorms have dropped less than a dusting each time. This is good news for travelers and intrepid winter hikers wishing to reach the high country.
The lack of snow is not such good news for Mono Lake—after last winter’s impressive snowfall the lake rose two feet over the summer. We need it to keep rising, so take a minute and do your snow dances this holiday season!
Thursday, December 15th, 2011 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
A Varied Thrush spotted in Lee Vining in December 2009. Photo by Justin Hite.
As the holiday season approaches it’s nearly time for a wonderful winter tradition—Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. Join in on one of these local counts:
Mono Basin—Tuesday, December 27. Contact: Kristie Nelson
Yosemite National Park—Sunday, December 18. Contact: Sarah Stock
Bishop—Saturday, December 17. Contact: Chris Howard
Christmas Bird Counts are one of the oldest and largest citizen sicence events in the world; this year the 112th annual counts will take place. The results (more…)
Monday, December 12th, 2011 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
With snow falling gently outside the office tonight, and more snow predicted for the next few days, Tioga Pass (Highway 120) has closed again. No word yet on whether this closure will be in effect for the rest of the season, but for now, plan to cross the Sierra Nevada on Highways 88, 50, or 80.
Sunday, December 11th, 2011 by Carolyn, Former Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Former Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending summer 2011 as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn stayed through winter 2012 as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (22) Contact Carolyn
Researcher Sean Boyd from the Pacific Wildlife Research Centre in British Columbia spent the past few weeks diligently counting Eared Grebes on Mono Lake from over 425 photos taken this fall. Before going completely bug-eyed, Boyd was able to get a total count of Eared Grebes on Mono Lake for October 14, 2011 (the day volunteer Lighthawk pilot Geoff Pope and photographer Rick Kattelman did the aerial survey). Boyd was able to calculate the final number of grebes by taking the initial count from the photos, converting that number into a density (#/km^2), adjusting it for scale (which we created through three white X markers that were 50 meters apart near the lake shore), and used the current lake surface area to find the final count. The final count was 886,500 +/-4.4% Standard Error.
The annual aerial Eared Grebe survey has been happening with the exception of a few years, for the past decade. See the listing of past year’s grebe counts here.
Thursday, December 8th, 2011 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
Yesterday—Wednesday, December 7—Tioga Pass (Highway 120) reopened through Yosemite National Park. Last week’s high winds blew a number of trees down in the high country, but the trees have now been removed from the road.
With snow predicted for this coming weekend it is unlikely that Tioga Pass will remain open for long. As always, when traveling across the Sierra Nevada in winter, check weather forecasts and road conditions before you go. Safe travels!
