Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 by Bartshé, Education DirectorcloseAuthor: Bartshé, Education DirectorName: Bartshé Miller Title: Education Director About: Bartshé directs the Committee's Outdoor Experiences Program, Canoe Program, and Interpretive Programs, and manages the Mono Basin Field Station. He has been an Eastern Sierra resident since 1993.See All Posts by Bartshé (22) Contact Bartshé
Have you heard? Mono Lake is for the birds … the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua planning team is hard at work putting together the eleventh annual weekend. Make sure June 15–17, 2012 is marked on your calendar.
Wilson's Phalaropes in flight at South Tufa. Photo courtesy of Marie Read.
Check out the recent updates to the website, and stay tuned as we add this year’s program and schedule. Remember to get up early to register on Sunday, April 15 since spaces fill so quickly.
Monday, February 6th, 2012 by Carolyn, Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Recently graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending a summer as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn is staying through the winter as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (14) Contact Carolyn
It’s that time of year again—time to start gathering prizes for the 2012 Free Drawing—one of the Mono Lake Committee’s largest fundraisers. Thanks to the overwhelming support from our members and visitors, last year’s Free Drawing was a huge success!
This year I have been diligently working on gathering a collection of fabulous prizes for the 2012 Free Drawing. The prize list for this fundraiser will go out through the mail as well as in our Information Center & Bookstore. Exactly how many people will (more…)
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 by Elin, Communications CoordinatorcloseAuthor: Elin, Communications CoordinatorName: Elin Ljung Title: Communications Coordinator About: Elin's job consists of some of her favorite things: finding typos, experimenting with layouts, and figuring out how best to communicate the Committee's work to the world. She also oversees the Field Seminar program. Elin is an EMT on the Lee Vining Fire Department, loves sitting at Latte Da Coffee Cafe immersed in a good book, and watches English Premier League football (soccer) at any opportunity.See All Posts by Elin (96) Contact Elin
Registration opened today for all the 2012 Field Seminars. The great selection of classes include birding, photography, kayaking, natural history, pastel painting, botany, geology, basket making, and much more! Check out the seminars and sign up today—spaces are filling quickly.
Thursday, January 26th, 2012 by Greg, Information & Restoration SpecialistcloseAuthor: Greg, Information & Restoration SpecialistName: Greg Reis Title: Information & Restoration Specialist About: Since his Committee internship in 1995, Greg has been involved with Mono Basin stream restoration and with maintaining the Committee's computers, Websites, and Research Library, and researching and compiling information for our programs. His B.S. degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Forestry and Natural Resources with a concentration in Environmental Management and a Senior Project in Hydrology reflects his interest in natural resources management, administration, planning, environmental analysis, and restoration. He is a member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals and the California Society for Ecological Restoration.See All Posts by Greg (124) Contact Greg
Following a wet October and a dry November, there were only 3 days in December with a trace of precipitation in Lee Vining. Going into January, the season was at only 33% of average when measured at the NOAA rain gauge at the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore. 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 were all years with similar or drier autumns, adding up to almost 1/3 of the 24 years on record at our weather station. But it was the first half of January that threw this season into the remarkable category.
On January 17, 2012, Tioga Pass finally closed for the winter as storm clouds gathered on the horizon. The only other time in history—going back to 1933—when it closed in January was when it closed on New Year’s Day 2000.
Monday, January 23rd, 2012 by Carolyn, Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Recently graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending a summer as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn is staying through the winter as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (14) Contact Carolyn
Monday, January 23rd, 2012 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 (70) Contact Arya
Mono Lake Committee Outdoor Experiences Manager Santiago Escruceria gives everyone a nickname. Beyer High School senior Tom Rydquist’s was “Mr. Muffin.”
In December 2011 the California Museum and Comcast announced that Rydquist won the Northern California Grand Prize in their Dreamers Challenge for a video he produced. His video “Funding the American Dream: Helping California Lead the Way in Water Reclamation” suggests a fee on sewage utilities to create water recycling programs. You can see Rydquist’s video here.
Beyer High School senior Tom Rydquist, left, monitoring water quality at Mono Lake with his classmates. Photo by Santiago Escruceria.
Along with fellow Beyer students from Modesto and their teacher Kay Myers, Mr. Muffin (more…)
Monday, January 23rd, 2012 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 (70) Contact Arya
Here’s a promising update for those of you following the recent story in the Los Angeles Times regarding dozens of solar energy facilities with national parks and forests that are waiting for grid connections while Southern California Edison hashes out contracts.
Solar panels at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center were installed on the south side of the building. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.
According to the LA Times, “The Forest Service said Friday that it expected to have its two projects—including a solar facility at the Mono Lake visitors center—connected to the grid soon.” The Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center’s solar array was installed (more…)
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 by Carolyn, Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Recently graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending a summer as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn is staying through the winter as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (14) Contact Carolyn
The dry spell has been broken here in the Mono Basin. On Saturday morning I awoke to a winter wonderland—snow covered the streets and the Mono Lake Committee’s back porch. A Pacific storm hit the Sierra Nevada this weekend and brought with it high winds, rain, snow, and highway closures.
A capture from the Lee Vining web cam shows today's snowy town.
As of this afternoon Tioga Pass is closed (and has been since Tuesday evening). Highways 108, 4, and 89 are all closed. Highways 88, (more…)
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 by Carolyn, Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Recently graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending a summer as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn is staying through the winter as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (14) Contact Carolyn
After several weeks of unseasonably dry weather here in the Mono Basin, the weather forecast shows a change coming at the end of this week. High chances of snow and rain are predicted starting Wednesday night through the weekend. What does this mean for road conditions? As of today at 5:00pm the Yosemite National Park website says that Tioga Pass (Highway 120) through the park will be closing tonight at 7:00pm. It is unclear how long the road will be closed if it closes tonight; it is usually weather-dependent. (more…)
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 by Carolyn, Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: Recently graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Policy, Carolyn loves the outdoors and the Eastern Sierra and is known to make forays in the Nevada hills for further exploration. After spending a summer as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn is staying through the winter as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (14) Contact Carolyn
Mono Lake Committee staff at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City. Photo courtesy of Margaret Eissler.
Communications Director Arya Degenhardt, Education Director Bartshe Miller, Eastern Sierra Policy Director Lisa Cutting, and I were lucky enough to be able to go to this exciting event and see the world premiere of the Mono Lake Committee’s brand new film, The Mono Lake Story. The festival consisted of seven venues at a variety of locations in the town, which showed approximately 140 films from around the world. (more…)
