This weekend, the Mono Basin Historical Society presents their annual fundraiser, the Ghosts of the Sagebrush Tour, which focuses on the history of Lee Vining this year. To purchase tickets, visit the Mono Basin Historical Society online, stop by the Old Schoolhouse Museum in Hess Park, call (760) 647-6461, or email the museum curator.

The weekend’s itinerary includes: (more…)

A Yellow-headed ... Blackbird! Photo courtesy of Ben Winger.

It’s a beautiful fall morning at Mono Lake County Park. I hear a Killdeer calling overhead from the cottonwood trees. No, wait—that would be a European Starling doing an excellent imitation!

I’m in my final month of leading public bird walks as the Mono Lake Committee Birding Intern. Has it really been five months since I rolled into town, nervous about whether I could sort out the sparrows from the finches, especially when in front of a group? I had a steep learning curve while leading my first-ever bird walks, and maybe I did shout out “Yellow-headed Woodpecker!” to one of my first groups as a vivid bird flew past. (“That would be Yellow-headed BLACKBIRD,” they gently corrected me). (more…)

Erica and Rose at Lundy Lake Reservoir. Photo by Lynette Villagomez.

The sole of a shoe, a child’s rubber ball, and a bait container printed with the phrase “please do not litter”—what do these items have in common?

All were found and picked up by sharp-eyed Mono Lake enthusiasts during the Great Sierra River Cleanup, held on September 15. This was the (more…)

As the first splotches of yellow begin to appear in the aspen groves of Lundy Canyon, the time has come for many of us to think about the future. Many interns who spend a summer working for the Mono Lake Committee eventually return to the basin—working either for the Committee or the Park Service or another conservation group. Some interns never leave, and instead slip first into winter seasonal work and then eventually into new roles as their knowledge and skill set grow.

It takes a 16,000-member, 20-staff village to save Mono Lake. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.

But what about those of us who are headed off to other jobs and divergent paths this fall, and who may return only as visitors: what has a summer in the Sierra meant to us? (more…)

Meet at the Mono Lake Committee at 8:30am this Saturday, September 15 for the Great Sierra River Cleanup—we’ll be cleaning up the shore of Lundy Lake Reservoir! Please wear closed-toed shoes, be ready for fall weather, and bring water. We’ll provide the snacks. (more…)

Three thousand, one hundred sixty-five feet of elevation gain is what you’d experience if you participated in the 32nd annual Tioga Pass Run. On Sunday, September 9, 113 runners and walkers ascended all 3,165 feet in a grueling but scenic 12.4 miles.

Participants line up for the start of the 32nd annual Tioga Pass Run.

The annual race begins in front of the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore at an altitude of (more…)

Enjoy Yosemite National Park without the travel stress—use the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) and leave your car behind. September is the final month of 2012 YARTS bus service to the eastside. On weekends only, through September 30, you can ride to and from Yosemite Valley or Tuolumne Meadows, see more dramatic scenery, forget about parking, and enjoy the freedom that comes from being fully bipedal in Yosemite (save on gas too!). YARTS also links Yosemite with its westside communities. Cruise the YARTS website to check out bus fares, stops, and schedules.

Skypilot (Polemonium eximium) are found in the high Sierra above treeline, including near the summit of Mt. Dana. Photo by Nick Holt.

America’s National Parks and extensive wilderness system provides millions of acres of unspoiled lands in which we can all escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life for a day, a week, or even months at a time. Enjoying our protected public lands is not the only activity we can pursue in the great outdoors, however.

Adventurers & Scientists for Conservation is a nonprofit founded by Gregg Treinish after he was able to partake in the adventure of a lifetime—trekking 7,800 miles along the length of the Andes, worthy of 2008 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year honors—but he felt (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…)