After a 36-week flight, the NASA rover Curiosity made a safe landing on Mars in early August, marking the start of the most comprehensive and sophisticated Mars mission to date. What, you might ask, does Curiosity’s mission have to do with Mono Lake?

A prototype Mars rover at Mono Lake in October 2010. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

From the study of extremophiles to the testing of new equipment, NASA has been involved with research in the Mono Basin (more…)

On Wednesday, August 29th, the Mono Lake Committee hosted PRBO Conservation Science’s Eastern Sierra Project leader Ken Etzel for our last Refreshments with Refreshing ‘Ologists talk of the year. Ken came to talk to us about ongoing research in the Eastern Sierra on aspen regeneration and its effect on native bird populations. As a researcher for PRBO, Ken has partnered with (more…)

Since the last week of June Mono Lake Committee staff and dedicated volunteers have been going into the field each Wednesday to pull invasive plant species at Mill Creek, near County Park, and at Old Marina along the path that leads to the Visitor Center.

Volunteers remove invasive sweet clover at Mill Creek. Photos by Lynette Villagomez.

Myself, fellow intern Max Henkels, and our volunteers were able to assist in clearing the path at Old Marina of invasive (more…)

Mono Lake Intern Lynette Villagomez recording measurements at Mill Creek.

For many Mono Lake interns, one of the main draws of working for the Mono Lake Committee is the opportunity to work outdoors in the Mono Basin. One of the opportunities to do this is the weekly stream monitoring that the Committee carries out at Mill Creek. Mill Creek monitoring, as we call it around the office, is part of the broad effort to track the status of the streamflows and ecology of the five creeks that feed Mono Lake from the Sierra Nevada. (more…)