Given that many aspen did not leaf out until June this year, the peak color season is running late in some parts of the Mono Basin and Eastern Sierra. Lee Vining Canyon and Lundy Canyon are anywhere from 5-10 days from peak display depending on elevation. The June Lake Loop is just beginning to hit full color. Aspen are showing well up-canyon in most locations. This will be a slow, late-blazing October. The best is yet to come in the Mono Basin!

Early in the afternoon on July 3 smoke was reported coming from beneath the boardwalk below Mono Lake County Park. Local Lee Vining volunteer, Inyo National Forest, and Bureau of Land Management firefighters quickly responded. Forty five feet of boardwalk and one acre of grass and willows were destroyed before the blaze was contained. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the boardwalk is closed until further notice. Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve staff  say the boardwalk will have to be rebuilt through the burned section. There is currently no estimate on when repairs might be completed.

If you have questions, or if you have information that may be of interest regarding this fire, call the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve at (760) 647-6331.

The Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua combines great birding field trips with an eclectic mix of workshops, presentations, art, and music. Mark your calendars for the last weekend of spring in Lee Vining, California. The Ninth Annual Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua returns June 18-20, 2010, and Web registration begins April 15th. Where else can you see a (more…)

Could these Wilson's Phalaropes be a few feet from a shadow biosphere?

Last week the Royal Society in London hosted a discussion meeting about the detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society. During the symposium/discussion Dr. Paul Davies (University of Arizona) presented a webcast lecture The eerie silence: are we alone in the universe? In this webcast he discussed the progress of SETI and the continuing, albeit thus far, quiet search for intelligent life beyond earth. But what of any (more…)

We are all getting bulked up on the white stuff. Yesterday I spent six hours shoveling between my roof and the berm left by the snow plow. It’s a pleasure to see this much snow, and it’s the first time in a while that this much has fallen around Mono Lake. We measured 33.2″ from Monday to Friday this week at our weather station here in Lee Vining. Thursday’s storm (1-21-2010)  set all-time low barometric pressure records for the San Joaquin Valley, to Reno, to Las Vegas. I don’t know if there’s an official barometer for Lee Vining, but the pressure dropped to just above 983 millibars/29.04 inches on one local weather station, the the lowest I’ve ever seen it.

A view to the north from the south-bound lanes of Highway 395, through the middle of Lee Vining.

One of the units with a new roof on the left. An example of the old roof on the right.

This past month roofers finished installing a new roof on the Mono Basin Field Station. The old roof was well past its prime, decaying and losing shingles with each puff of wind. The new roof is metal and will withstand all the wind and snow the Mono Basin can deliver.

The new roof is the latest physical improvement to this local research station that has been continually hosting research projects since 2004. In 2009 (more…)

South Tufa tours are a great way to learn about Mono Lake! Photo by Greg Reis.

South Tufa tours

Weekend tours are currently happening on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 pm; meet at the South Tufa kiosk/parking lot. Daily tours begin on May 23 at 1:00 pm at the same location.

Bird walks

Sundays and Fridays; now through September 6. Meet at the Mono Lake County Park parking lot at 8:00 am.

See the Calendar of Events for details. The Mono Lake Committee operates under a permits from the Inyo National Forest and the California Department of Parks & Recreation.