It’s that time of year again, time for the Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) count at Mono Lake. Most visitors in the Mono Basin can easily say that they have seen a lot of birds at the County Park and Old Marina sites, but how many grebes are there exactly? That’s where photographer Rick Kattelmann, volunteer Lighthawk pilot Geoff Pope, and researcher Sean Boyd come into the picture.

What look like tiny white specks in a black abyss are actually Eared Grebes on the surface of Mono Lake. There are 76 dots in this photo. Photo by Rick Kattelmann.

Since the mid-1990s aerial photographs have been taken of the lake surface. These surveys of the Eared Grebe populations are (more…)

Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

As head of the California Department of Fish & Game’s Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, Dr. Tom Stephenson has a job which takes him all over the range, from Mt. Langley to Dunderberg Peak. On Wednesday, August 31, it brought him to the Mono Lake Committee’s Theater & Gallery, where he gave a presentation as part of our “Refreshments with Refreshing ‘Ologists” summer lecture series.

Bighorn sheep are the only federally-listed endangered species in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks, and the only federally-listed endangered mammal on the Inyo National Forest. The species has been (more…)

Researcher Sarah Dalrymple of UC Davis spoke at the Mono Lake Committee on Wednesday, August 4 as part of our “Refreshments with Refreshing ‘Ologists” lecture series. Dalrymple is a PhD candidate in biology whose work centers in the Jeffrey pine forest just south of the Mono Basin on the Deadman Plateau.

If you’ve ever taken a stroll in the woods near Obsidian Dome or Wilson Butte, you may have noticed distinct rings around certain pine trees where the ground has been cleared of needle litter. Intrigued by this phenomenon, Dalrymple did some preliminary investigation and discovered a strong correlation between the presence of these cleared rings and the survival of trees during a forest fire. In one recently-burned area, trees with clearings around their trunks had a 60% reduction in mortality compared to trees without clearings. Dalrymple set out to determine what creates and maintains these clearings and what role they play in the fire cycle of the forest.

The cleared area around a Jeffrey pine. Photo courtesy of Sarah Dalrymple.

First, Dalrymple compared clearings in forests that had and had not experienced a recent regime of prescribed burns. She found (more…)

…then come to a lecture this Wednesday, August 24 at 4:00pm at the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore! In the third installment of our summer lecture series, “Refreshments with Refreshing ‘Ologists,” biologist Sarah Dalrymple of UC Davis will give a presentation on her research in our local Jeffrey pine forest. Sarah studies how prescribed burns and ants cause clearings around Jeffrey pines that can reduce future damage from wildfires. This topic is extremely relevant  as it’s now the height of the summer wildfire season. Following the talk there will be a chance for questions, comments, and … refreshments! Please join us on Wednesday at 4:00pm!

Photo courtesy of Sarah Dalrymple.

If you own a shovel and you like to dig, then you should consider becoming a geomorphologist. Geomorphologist Scott Stine has been digging holes in the Mono Basin since 1979. Last week during the second presentation in the Mono Lake Committee’s series, Refreshments with Refreshing ‘Ologists, Scott discussed the volcanic history of Mono Lake’s islands.

By digging holes, Scott can date (more…)

Join us for the second speaker in our lecture series, “Refreshments with Refreshing ‘ologists.” On Wednesday, August 10 we will host geomorphologist Scott Stine, a longtime member of the Mono Basin Science Council. Scott’s work has included researching many different topics ranging from lake level fluctuations to dating ages of tufa towers, and his talk will be focused on the volcanic history of Mono Lake’s islands. The talk will begin at 4:00pm in the Mono Lake Committee’s Theater & Gallery. Refreshments will be served. Contact Sarah at (760) 647-6595 for more information!

I was eight years old and it was my first visit to Sea World.

California Gulls wheeling over Mono Lake.

After viewing a spectacular performance by the famous whale, Shamu, I was walking down the boardwalk, munching on a delicious churro, a doughy cinnamon stick, when a seagull landed on my head. While grasping onto my hair, the gull proceeded to peck at my tasty snack. I was terrified. Ever since this horrifying experience, I duck when the shadow of a gull passes over my head. It was not until this summer when I came to work as an intern at the Mono Lake Committee that my fear began to wane and my curiosity (more…)

Now available to download from the Mono Basin Clearinghouse is the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s May 2011 Mono Basin compliance report. This annual report discusses previous year and current year operations and monitoring for the State Water Board-ordered requirements of the city of Los Angeles’ water rights licenses. Highlights are (more…)

Kristie Nelson of PRBO Conservation Science taking the crew out to the islands.

Each spring the Mono Lake Committee assists PRBO Conservation Science in doing a California Gull nest count on Mono Lake’s islands. PRBO, whose mission is to conserve birds and other wildlife, has been monitoring the population size and reproductive success of California Gull (Larus californicus) at Mono Lake since 1983. (more…)

NASA’s controversial research about arsenic-metabolizing bacteria in Mono Lake continues to stir up debate. On Friday the journal Science published several articles contesting the validity of the findings, but Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon and her colleagues stand behind their work. Read more here.

NASA researchers on Mono Lake in November 2010. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.