State Water Board vote to protect Mono Lake, September 28, 1994. Archive photo.

Today is September 28, a day of great significance to Mono Lake!

Check your Mono Lake Calendars … that’s right, today is the anniversary of the State Water Resources Control Board vote on Decision 1631—the decision that protected Mono Lake by ending the excessive diversion of water to Los Angeles.

It’s easy to remember where I was exactly 18 years ago today since I was the Committee’s photographer and Newsletter editor at the time. That put me in Sacramento (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…)

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…)

Have you ever visited Panum Crater in the Mono Basin? If not, you may want to take advantage of the free Panum Crater walks that are made possible by volunteers such as Rich Foye.

Volunteer Rich Foye, right, leads a Panum Crater tour. Photo by Lynette Villagomez.

Anyone who has spent an afternoon at South Tufa will be familiar with Panum Crater—the youngest volcano in the Mono Craters, which stretches to the southeast of Mono Lake and forms the base of what was once Mono’s shore. Visitors are often shocked to learn that Panum Crater is the result of a volcanic explosion that took place only six hundred years ago, rising up from the basin floor at the same moment that (more…)

For some, half the fun of hiking is the fact that you can wear your favorite worn-out T-shirt with the holes in the shoulders and those faded shorts at the bottom of the drawer. For others, there’s “Trail Chic.”

Trail chic: [treyl sheek] adjective
Fashionable while recreating outdoors; stylish: “That is a seriously trail chic outfit.“

Trail chic: [treyl sheek] noun
Style and elegance, especially in dress: “Eastside residents have such trail chic.”

Trail Chic: [treyl sheek] the event
A fashion show fundraiser for the Committee’s Bus Money Fund to help students get to Mono Lake for outdoor education programs

It’s funky, it’s fun, it’s your friends in a fashion show on a green-carpet runway that you don’t want to miss:

Friday, July 27, 2012 at 7:30pm at the Lee Vining Community Center.

Generously sponsored by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, there will (more…)

I am constantly amazed by the variety of enthusiastic Mono Lake supporters that frequent our store. Some bound up the steps, excited to see that the phalaropes have arrived and are swimming around at South Tufa. Others stop abruptly in the doorway, inhale deeply, and exclaim, “I’ve missed the smell of this store!” Of course, there is always the visitor who silently peruses the bookshelves for the latest Dave Carle novel. In my three summers in the store, I would say in general, our visitors make me smile.

Last Thursday was no exception.

A rather soft-spoken young boy walked up, and as I leaned over the counter to talk to him, I noticed he was carrying a violin case. (more…)

We are proud to announce the recipients of the 2012 Mono Lake Committee Scholarship: Cory Forbes, Natasha McCullough, and Alek McKee of Lee Vining High School, and Cavanagh Gohlich of Coleville High School all wrote essays that won them each $500 to help with their education expenses.

The 2012 Mono Lake Committee Scholarship winners, from the top left: Cory Forbes, Alek McKee, Natasha McCullough, and Cavanagh Gohlich (with Mono Lake Committee Office Director Rosanne Catron).

Students respond to one of these two essay questions: How has Mono Lake or the Mono Basin influenced your life and your choice to go to college? What do you expect to do to change the world for the better with particular regard to solving natural resource issues?

From Cory Forbes’ essay: “The lake is an ever-changing being (more…)

Last November the Sierra Nevada experienced extremely high winds that resulted in tens of thousands of fallen trees in the Tioga Pass, Reds Meadow/Devils Postpile, and Mammoth Lakes Basin areas. The mild winter and spring allowed Forest Service crews to begin clearing the damage right away, but it remains extensive.

Reds Meadow was hit particularly hard and remains closed to all public access by vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians (more…)

The Summer 2012 Mono Lake Newsletter is now online in color and available to view and download for Mono Lake Committee members. Members, log in here to see the issue.

Have you walked the trails in the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve from Old Marina? Did you know that a staff person at DWP sent a letter to the State Water Board recommending that they stop monitoring the health of Mono Lake? Have you seen the changes to the front of the Information Center & Bookstore? Find out about these things and get a handy map and useful information for your next visit in the Summer 2012 Mono Lake Newsletter today.

Join the Mono Lake Committee to become a member and to see the current issue today. Members also have access to (more…)