On Saturday morning, October 13, a small plane flew over Mono Lake. It banked multiple times, and then flew across the lake over and over. A sightseer? No, this was scientific research in action—the annual Eared Grebe aerial photo survey!

A view over Mono Lake's eastern shore, looking southwest over the Mono Craters to the Sierra Nevada range. Photo by Arya Degenhardt with aerial support provided by LightHawk.

A bit of background: Eared Grebes nest in the northern Rockies and southern Canada, and visit Mono Lake mid-migration. While here in the fall, they undergo molt and gorge themselves on (more…)

Visitors to the Mono Basin and Long Valley area in the next two weeks can expect to see golden aspen trees, snow dusted peaks, and something quite unusual—a lone helicopter flying only 500 feet from the ground.

An example of Mono Basin volcanism: Negit Island, a lava dome on Mono Lake. Photo by Rose Catron.

The helicopter marks an exciting new development in an ongoing project by the US Geological Survey (USGS) to monitor volcanic activity in the Eastern Sierra. (more…)

The October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012 water year recently came to a close. Happy new 2013 water year!

What is a water year?
It is said that hydrologists get to celebrate a new year at least four times a year—January 1st for a calendar year, April 1st for a runoff year, July 1st for a coastal California rainfall year (as well as a fiscal year), and October 1st for a water year. Needless to say, this creates challenges in organizing hydrology data.

Here in the Mono Basin, we typically use the runoff year to summarize most measurements involving stream flows, since (more…)

Thanks to recent efforts of California Trout, a video of part one of Elden Vestal’s November 3, 1993 deposition is now on YouTube. You can watch the hour and forty-seven minute video here on the Mono Basin Clearinghouse.

Watch the YouTube Video of Elden's 1993 historical testimony here!

Elden was a California Department of Fish & Game Fisheries Biologist whose deposition was instrumental (more…)

In early September I had the privilege of joining PRBO Conservation Science researcher Kristie Nelson and small group of volunteers in an excursion to Mono Lake’s islets for the annual California Gull mortality count (otherwise known as the “Mort Count”).

On the boat out to the Mort Count sites at Mono Lake. Photo by Max Henkels.

This was the third and final trip that the gull researchers made to the islands this summer. In July, Birding Intern Erica Tucker helped out with chick-banding in a trip she chronicled last month on the Mono-logue. My experience on the islands was much different from hers (more…)

The summer of 2012 was hot. But how hot? As we celebrate the Autumnal Equinox and the end of summer, let’s take a look back and see how the weather this year (so far) compared to previous years. Our focus is on temperatures—every month this year has had above-average temperatures. In October, we will summarize the meager precipitation and snowfall that fell during the dry October 1, 2011–September 30, 2012 Water Year. (more…)

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…)

After a 36-week flight, the NASA rover Curiosity made a safe landing on Mars in early August, marking the start of the most comprehensive and sophisticated Mars mission to date. What, you might ask, does Curiosity’s mission have to do with Mono Lake?

A prototype Mars rover at Mono Lake in October 2010. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

From the study of extremophiles to the testing of new equipment, NASA has been involved with research in the Mono Basin (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…)

Mono Lake Intern Lynette Villagomez recording measurements at Mill Creek.

For many Mono Lake interns, one of the main draws of working for the Mono Lake Committee is the opportunity to work outdoors in the Mono Basin. One of the opportunities to do this is the weekly stream monitoring that the Committee carries out at Mill Creek. Mill Creek monitoring, as we call it around the office, is part of the broad effort to track the status of the streamflows and ecology of the five creeks that feed Mono Lake from the Sierra Nevada. (more…)