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…)
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, November 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
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.
Thursday, November 17th, 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 Fall 2011 Mono Lake Newsletter is now online and available to view and download for Mono Lake Committee members. The online version comes complete with color photos! You’ll find articles on the state park issue, the elimination of the Forest Service’s South Tufa tours, the obstacles to restoration that the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s aqueduct faces, The Mono Lake Story film, the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, invasive plant removal efforts, the prizes in this year’s Free Drawing to protect Mono Lake, the Mono Basin Watershed Project, the fall catalog with hand-selected books and gifts from the Bookstore, and much more.
Join the Mono Lake Committee to become a member and to see the current issue today! Members also have access to the 33-year archive of newsletters. The current issue will be available to everyone beginning on December 15.
Thursday, October 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
Great news for fans of Andrea Lawrence and those tracking the renaming of peak 12,240! Barbara Boxer introduced the bill last May and it was passed unanimously in the Senate this week. The next step is the House, where Republican Representative Buck McKeon of Santa Clarita has already sponsored the bill.
The peak itself is in Mono County, 0.6 miles northeast of Donahue Peak on the northern border of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and Yosemite National Park.
Sunday, October 2nd, 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
Fall color along the Highway 395 corridor is starting to make itself known with yellow and orange ribbons of aspens gracing the Eastside’s steep riparian corridors from Bishop to the Mono Basin and beyond.
Fall color at high elevations in the Mono Basin. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.
Aspen groves at higher elevations are definitely changing—such as the east-facing flanks above Lundy Canyon and below Conway Summit.
I’ve also heard reports that the colors are beautiful in the Sagehen Summit area out Highway 120 East as well as early color around the Lee Vining diversion dam up Highway 120 West.
Who knows what the incoming stormy weather will do to the progression of color, but I highly recommend getting out there as soon as possible.
Wednesday, September 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
Calling all photographers! The call for submission for the 2013 Mono Lake Calendar is here. If you are interested in submitting, click here for the submission information and read on for details. The submission deadline is Monday, October 31, 2011.
Since 1986, the magnificent geological and ecological wonders of Mono Lake have been celebrated in the Mono Lake Calendar, published by the Mono Lake Committee. Sales of the calendar help to fund the efforts (more…)
to fund the efforts 
