Don’t miss your chance to participate in the eleventh annual Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua on June 15–17. Join us for three full days of fascinating field trips, workshops, and presentations exploring the natural wonders of the Mono Basin. This family-friendly event is open to everyone, and kids under age 12 attend for free.

Wilson's Phalaropes on the wing at South Tufa. Photo courtesy of Marie Read.

Registration opens Sunday, April 15th bright and early at 6:30am so be sure to mark your calendar with that important date. We recommend you take the time to identify your first and (more…)

Last week, Ed Armenta, the Inyo National Forest Supervisor, made the announcement that Lesley Yen has been chosen to serve as Acting Deputy District Ranger for the Mono Lake and Mammoth Ranger Districts—which includes the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area. (more…)

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…)

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

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…)

Early in the afternoon of 11-11-11, our friends Nancy and Ramona discovered the first Eared Grebe in town. Each fall Mono Lake harbors between 500,000 and two million Eared Grebes, which come to fatten up on brine shrimp and alkali flies before heading south to the Salton Sea and the Gulf of California for the winter. So seeing an Eared Grebe at Mono Lake is not news, but this grebe was not out on the lake, it was sitting calmly on the slick, wet pavement at Murphey’s Motel (more…)

The Mono Lake Committee hosted the 31st annual Tioga Pass Run on September 11, 2011. Just under 100 participants raced up Highway 120 West, starting in front of the Committee in Lee Vining and finishing at the east entrance to Yosemite National Park. That’s 12.4 miles … but only one hill!

And they're off! Tioga Pass Run participants start the race in front of the Mono Lake Committee in Lee Vining. Photo courtesy of Dick Erb.

Locals once again dominated the run, with 51 of the 84 participants coming from the Eastern Sierra communities of Bishop, Crowley Lake, Mammoth Lakes, June Lake, Lee Vining, Mono City, and Walker. But participants also came from (more…)

Many visitors to the Eastern Sierra are familiar with the breathtaking journey from Lee Vining up Tioga Pass to Yosemite National Park by car, but here is your once-a-year chance to experience Tioga Pass on foot. Join other high elevation athletes for the 31st Annual Tioga Pass Run on Sunday September 11, 2011. All proceeds from the run benefit the Mono Lake Committee.

On your mark, get set, and go! More than 100 athletes crossed the starting line during last year's run.

What could be better than (more…)

Mono Lake’s state park is still listed as one of 70 state parks in California scheduled to close this fall. This fact continues to raise more questions than it answers. What does closure mean for Mono Lake, a park covering over seventy square miles of sovereign California state lands?

As Mono Lake rises, already over two feet this year, the water floods vegetation like this salt grass where black alkali flies forage for algae among brilliant yellow Jeffrey pine pollen. This view looks north from Old Marina, one of the threatened state park access locations that features a brand new handicap-accessible boardwalk. Photo by Morgan Lindsay.

Will visitors still be able to experience Mono Lake from the water by taking a canoe, kayak, or motor boat tour? Will scientists be able to collect samples of Mono Lake’s famous arsenic bacteria? Will filmmakers like the BBC or Nova be able to capture Mono Lake’s unique tufa towers, alkali (more…)

Mono Lake’s state park remains on the closure list. We need your help to tell decision-makers in Sacramento that Mono Lake should remain open to public access. Speak up for Mono Lake today!

If Mono Lake's state park is closed, visitors may no longer be able to enjoy the boardwalk at Old Marina. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.

You can also take action with our friends at the California State Parks Foundation to share a picture or story of your favorite trip to Mono Lake to make sure that Mono Lake’s state park and the 69 other parks on the closure list don’t become just a memory.