A cheery group of Mono Lake friends braved the December cold at Old Marina to celebrate the removal of Mono Lake’s state park from the closure list.

Mono Lake friends celebrated with cake and many toasts to the next 30 years for the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve.

State Park staff, Bodie Foundation board members, Mono Lake Committee staff and board members, hardworking volunteers, (more…)

On Thursday, December 1, California State Parks announced that the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve is off the closure list—wonderful and long-awaited news!

Smartphones are key to working during a power outage: Arya found the State Parks' press release on her phone as Bartshe and Geoff work on theirs in the background.

In a strange twist of fate, we got the call via cell phone since we had lost power along with much of the Eastern Sierra a few hours before. Relying on the few smartphones in the office, (more…)

On December 1, 2011 (the same day that the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve was taken off the closure list), a new bird for Mono County was discovered by Jean Dillingham in June Lake. A Common Redpoll hit Jean’s window in the morning. She collected the dazed bird outside and brought it in to see if it could be saved. To her amazement, the bird was unlike any she had ever seen in the Eastern Sierra. She quickly figured it was (more…)

Yesterday California State Parks announced in a press release that the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve has been removed from the closure list—exciting and long-awaited news! Major and local news outlets are covering the story:

Los Angeles Times: Mono Lake taken off state park closure list

San Francisco Chronicle: Bodie Foundation saves Mono Lake from closure list

Mammoth Times: Mono Lake State Park is off the closure list

After a six month grassroots public effort, the world-renowned state park at Mono Lake—the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve—has been removed from California’s 70-park closure list.

This great news means that the Reserve will remain open to the public, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to the local economy, providing public access to Mono Lake, offering educational programs, and assuring ongoing public management and stewardship for Mono Lake’s unique ecosystem.

The December 1 announcement by California State Parks comes just in time for next year’s 30^th anniversary of the park, which was created in 1982. For Mono Lake friends and supporters this is certainly a moment to be thankful for, and cause for celebration.

“This is the best Christmas present we could ever wish for. The state park is critical to keeping Mono Lake protected for future generations,” said Sally Gaines, Mono Lake Committee Board Chair. “It’s great news that creative solutions will keep it open.”

Mono Lake leaves the closure list thanks to a broad public effort to keep the Mono Lake Reserve open combined with a new parking fee revenue solution. The news also puts to rest questions raised by many including the Mono Lake Committee about how Mono Lake was selected for the closure list in the first place.

Mono Lake Committee members and Mono Lake fans near and far wrote letters and signed locally-placed petitions all summer, opposing closure and offering possible solutions. Over 4,000 letters and petition signatures were hand-delivered to Governor Jerry Brown, Parks Director Ruth Coleman, Mono County’s State Assemblymember Kristin Olsen, and State Senator Ted Gaines.

Robert Hanna, active Mono Lake champion and great-great-grandson of John Muir, was bouncing off the walls with excitement. “Behind every great accomplishment you’ll find togetherness, and it was a pleasure to work alongside everyone who answered the call to protect Mono Lake. This is our legacy—we must all stand up and find solutions to protect the places we love.”

Important support for keeping the reserve open as a critical piece of the local tourism-based economy came from the Mono County Board of Supervisors, the Mono County Film & Tourism Commission, and the Mammoth Lakes Town Council.

Rusty Gregory, CEO of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, commented, “I applaud California State Parks for deciding to keep the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve open and operating. This decision is a win-win for the environment and the economy. The park’s quarter million visitors can now continue to support the fragile rural economies of our adjacent communities as they enjoy convenient access to the natural wonders of Mono Lake.”

The California State Parks agency, with its highly trained staff and depth of experience, will continue to manage and protect the sovereign state lands and waters of the Mono Lake Reserve sustainably for public enjoyment. A parking fee solution will address the agency’s concerns about the current lack of user fee revenue at the Mono Lake Reserve. The modest parking fee will be put into place at the state’s major west shore visitation site—Old Marina—and all funds collected will be used to offset operating expenses at the Mono Lake Reserve. Given the low cost and high efficiency of the Reserve operation, adding a user fee to the already strong level of volunteer and community support means it is possible to substantially strengthen the foundation of the Reserve and keep it open and operating.

Mono Lake is home to many partnerships, and the Mono Lake Committee commends the Bodie Foundation for stepping forward to operate the new fee collection system. The Bodie Foundation’s special relationship with California State Parks as a non-profit cooperating association allows it to operate park-based programs such as the museum and bookstore at Bodie State  Historic Park. At Mono Lake, that makes it the perfect organization to handle the collection and transfer of fees directly to Mono Lake Reserve operations.

State Assemblymember Kristin Olsen said, “I’m thrilled that the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve has successfully been removed from the state’s park closure list. Mono Lake is an integral part of Mono County’s economy, and is a world-renowned tourist destination. Finding creative solutions through public-private partnerships is key to ensuring that Californians continue to have access to state parks for many years to come. I congratulate the community members who have worked hard and creatively to keep Mono Lake open.”

With Mono Lake off the state park closure list, now is a perfect time to make plans to visit the lake’s unique tufa towers and scenic views, either in the winter or with the migratory birds next summer. Mono Lake visitor resources can be found at the Mono Lake Committee website www.monolake.org and for Mono County information, visit www.monocounty.org.

At about 12:40pm on Thursday, December 1 the power went out in Lee Vining. At 2:00pm it appeared that the power in Mono County from Bridgeport south might be out the rest of the day and possibly into tomorrow. With frozen pipes, no heat, no electricity, and no Internet, the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore will be closed for the rest of today and until power is restored.

As of 2:15pm our phone system was still running on battery backup, so if you call you can still leave our staff voicemails, but soon the battery should run out and the phone system in the office will stop working. Emails to our office will be held by our spam filtering service until our server is back up and running after power is restored.

The rest of the Eastern Sierra region is dealing with this outage as well, so if you are traveling to the area today, be aware that gas stations, restaurants, markets, and motels in Mono County will be without power and may be closed today and possibly into tomorrow.

After high winds and snow flurries yesterday and last night Highway 120 over Tioga Pass is once again closed from Crane Flat through Yosemite National Park to three miles west of Highway 395.

Sonora Pass (Highway 108) and Ebbetts Pass (Highway 4) are also closed, but Highways 88, 89, and 50 are currently open. As you travel “over the river and through the woods” through the mountains this holiday season, be sure to check weather and road conditions for updates as conditions change quickly, and be sure to drive safely!

Check out the trailer for The First 70, a new documentary showcasing the 70 California state parks marked for closure.

Last May, California announced plans to close 70 of their 278 parks, including Mono Lake, a devastating move that is intended to save the state a mere $22 million per year. The closure list (more…)

Highway 120 up and over Tioga Pass is currently open! It’s not too late for a visit to the Mono Basin from the west side, or for a trip to the high country before the big snow comes. This week’s forecast looks mostly clear and chilly—a great combination for getting out and about.

We always recommend checking road and weather conditions before you travel. For information on the Tioga Pass road, you can call: (800) GAS-ROAD or (209) 372-0200 or visit the regional road conditions page here. For weather conditions, check here.

The road is generally clear, though (more…)

Hey all you Amazon.com holiday shoppers….

Did you know that by clicking on the shop for Mono Lake link on the Mono Lake Committee’s website, Amazon will donate 5% of your purchase to help the restoration, education, and protection of Mono Lake?

It’s as easy as that! If you are going to do your holiday shopping on Amazon, simply click this link or type “www.shopformonolake.org” into your browser, and it will take you to Amazon. From there, Amazon will track what you buy and give Mono Lake 5% of your total purchase.

When you’re done there, don’t forget to shop the Committee’s online store for all of your Mono Lake Committee logo gear!

As always, thank you for your support and have a wonderful holiday season.