Saturday, December 24th, 2011 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 (91) Contact Arya
Number 8 of the top 11 of 2011 is actually recognition of three major celebrations—the Andrea Lawrence Award Dinner, the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, and the Defender of the Trust Award ceremony. Yee-haw! (more…)
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 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 (91) Contact Arya
As the year comes to a close, it’s always fun to look back and take stock of what has happened at, around, and for Mono Lake. 2011 has been another amazing year … so amazing, in fact, that we couldn’t fit it all into a “top 10″ list, so we’re doing the top 11 of 2011. We’ll release one highlight each day, complete with new photos from the 2011 archive, here on The Mono-logue for the last 11 days of the year. Stay tuned!
Monday, December 19th, 2011 by Carolyn, Former Project SpecialistcloseAuthor: Carolyn, Former Project SpecialistName: Carolyn Weddle Title: Project Specialist About: 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 summer 2011 as a Retail Assistant in the Information Center & Bookstore, Carolyn stayed through winter 2012 as a Project Specialist.See All Posts by Carolyn (22) Contact Carolyn
The time has come to pick the lucky winners of the 2011 Free Drawing! Last Wednesday, December 14, Mono Lake Committee staff plunged through a box full of thousands of free drawing tickets to pick the 24 winners of a variety of prizes. Prizes included an iPad 2, Canon digital camera, brand new snowboard, and many more exciting items! Check the full list of 2011 prizes here.
Office Director Rose Catron shows off the ticket she pulled from the box.
I will be calling each individual winner in the next week to congratulate them on their winnings, so check your phone, it just might be me calling you with good news! (more…)
Thursday, December 15th, 2011 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 (133) Contact Elin
A Varied Thrush spotted in Lee Vining in December 2009. Photo by Justin Hite.
As the holiday season approaches it’s nearly time for a wonderful winter tradition—Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. Join in on one of these local counts:
Mono Basin—Tuesday, December 27. Contact: Kristie Nelson
Yosemite National Park—Sunday, December 18. Contact: Sarah Stock
Bishop—Saturday, December 17. Contact: Chris Howard
Christmas Bird Counts are one of the oldest and largest citizen sicence events in the world; this year the 112th annual counts will take place. The results (more…)
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 by Morgan, Policy CoordinatorcloseAuthor: Morgan, Policy CoordinatorName: Morgan Lindsay Title: Project Specialist About: Morgan works to support the protection and restoration of Mono Lake and its tributary streams in the office and out in the field. She loves doing something different every day, from monitoring the lake's rise and groundwater patterns along the creek's bottomlands to researching policy issues. But after three summers sharing Mono Lake with visitors by canoe, Morgan's favorite job will always be making new friends for the lake. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College with an Environmental Studies degree in Water Science & Policy, there is nowhere Morgan would rather be than the Mono Basin. If she's not out hiking, skiing, or digging in the dirt with the Sierra Bounty CSA, Morgan's probably at rehearsal for the next Eastern Sierra theatrical adventure—eager for any socially acceptable excuse to sport a goatee.See All Posts by Morgan (33) Contact Morgan
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…)
Sunday, November 20th, 2011 by Jessica, Information Center & Bookstore ManagercloseAuthor: Jessica, Information Center & Bookstore ManagerName: Jessica Ashley Title: Information Center & Bookstore Manager About: Jess stocks the store with educational, handmade, local, and ecologically friendly merchandise and keeps operations functioning efficiently. After working for a summer in the Committee bookstore, Jess joined the staff full-time in May of 2011. Jess' extensive retail experience and love of the Eastern Sierra make her perfectly suited for her role as Information Center & Bookstore Manager.See All Posts by Jessica (22) Contact Jessica
Information Center & Bookstore Manager Jessica Horn shows off some of the great holiday items from the store! Photo by Morgan Lindsay.
Let the Mono Lake Committee staff play Santa for you this year! Shop online, through the catalog in the Fall 2011 Mono Lake Newsletter, call us up at (760) 647-6595, or stop in and see us in Lee Vining!
We have Mono Lake Committee logo gear for everyone in the family, pottery and prints by local artists, jewelry, toys, and books galore.
All profits from your holiday purchases go to Mono Lake, so start clicking, calling, and shopping!
Thursday, November 17th, 2011 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 (91) Contact Arya
The Fall 2011 Mono Lake Newsletter is now online and available to view and download for Mono Lake Committee members. The online version comes complete with color photos! You’ll find articles on the state park issue, the elimination of the Forest Service’s South Tufa tours, the obstacles to restoration that the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s aqueduct faces, The Mono Lake Story film, the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, invasive plant removal efforts, the prizes in this year’s Free Drawing to protect Mono Lake, the Mono Basin Watershed Project, the fall catalog with hand-selected books and gifts from the Bookstore, and much more.
Join the Mono Lake Committee to become a member and to see the current issue today! Members also have access to the 33-year archive of newsletters. The current issue will be available to everyone beginning on December 15.
Thursday, October 20th, 2011 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 (91) Contact Arya
Great news for fans of Andrea Lawrence and those tracking the renaming of peak 12,240! Barbara Boxer introduced the bill last May and it was passed unanimously in the Senate this week. The next step is the House, where Republican Representative Buck McKeon of Santa Clarita has already sponsored the bill.
The peak itself is in Mono County, 0.6 miles northeast of Donahue Peak on the northern border of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and Yosemite National Park.
Friday, September 30th, 2011 by Julia, Mono Lake InterncloseAuthor: Julia, Mono Lake InternName: Julia Runcie Title: Mono Lake Intern About: As a native of the diminutive Green Mountains, Julia is completely in awe of the Sierra but has to admit she sometimes misses real maple syrup. After her 2010 summer internship she stayed through the winter as a Project Specialist, and is now a Mono Lake Intern for her second summer. In her free time, Julia loves to hike, cook, write, and uproot invasive weeds.See All Posts by Julia (42) Contact Julia
Mono Lake Committee staff, members, and volunteers gather native plant seeds at Old Marina. Photo courtesy of Bob Finch.
Over the past several years, a dense monoculture of invasive sweet clover has grown up around the David Gaines Memorial Boardwalk at Old Marina. Along with the Mono Lake Committee, Friends of the Inyo, and California State Parks, local residents, summer visitors, and students from Los Angeles donated over 300 hours of their time to removing sweet clover this past summer, and we successfully cleared nearly the entire boardwalk of this troublesome weed.
Yet invasive plants removal cannot be accomplished through a single management technique. This year, instead of simply uprooting the sweet clover, we decided to give it something to (more…)
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 by Ellen, Membership CoordinatorcloseAuthor: Ellen, Membership CoordinatorName: Ellen King Title: Membership Coordinator About: Ellen is responsible for updating and maintaining the Committee's 16,000-person membership database—a task this former librarian relishes! Before coming to work for the Committee, Ellen was a member herself, so she's well-suited to answering members' questions about their accounts. She lives with her husband Duncan in nearby June Lake, at the southern edge of the Mono Basin watershed.See All Posts by Ellen (3) Contact Ellen
Enter the 2011 Mono Lake Committee Free Drawing today for a chance to win one of the great prizes! It costs nothing to enter (it is, after all, a Free Drawing!) but we would appreciate a donation of $5.00 per ticket. You could win an Apple iPad2, a Canon EOS Rebel 3 digital camera, one of several vacation packages, or a camping equipment package. Take a look at the complete list of prizes. If you’ve already received your tickets, return them to us in order to enter. If you need tickets, email Ellen with your name and address. Prize-winning tickets will be drawn on November 30, 2011.
