Mono Lake Committee founder David Gaines toured tirelessly around California with carousel of slides and a call to help a dying lake–talking to anyone who would listen. The Mono Lake Committee has continued this tradition by showing The Mono Lake Story slideshow at our headquarters in Lee Vining every year to thousands of visitors and Mono Lake enthusiasts. This old tradition will now continue in a new media format.

We are excited to announce that we are creating a 20-minute film (more…)

For the last four days, Lee Vining residents and visitors strolling down the Lee Vining Creek Trail could hear boulders knocking against each other over the roar of the whitewater in Lee Vining Creek. The “clunking” sound is coming from the creek—it is the sound of large “bedload” moving—rocks moving along the bottom.

Yesterday Lee Vining Creek peaked at 512 cfs. This is the highest flow in the creek since 1998. Maximizing the peak flow below the DWP diversion dam is the primary tool used to restore the creek from damage done by (more…)

With warmer weather and the road open as far as Tioga Pass from Highway 395, there was quite a bit of human-powered recreation going on at Tioga Pass this weekend. Cars—many with bike racks and ski racks—were at times taking almost all the available parking spots that had been cleared of snow between Ellery Lake and Tioga Pass.

Cyclists enjoy the car-free Tioga Pass Road in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

(more…)

Rumors (and at least one Yosemite blogger) are saying that the Tioga Road is open from the east to the top. Not true.

As of Tuesday May 11th, 2010 at noon, the lower gate is still closed. In addition, Mono County crews are starting to plow into the park today, Wednesday May 12th. There are less than 10 miles of snow-covered road left to clear since the NPS crews have reached pothole dome. Once clear, the road doesn’t open immediately due to additional maintenance and avalanche danger.

Tuesday May 11, 2010 at noon. Contrary to rumors triggered by a blogger with incorrect information, the lower gate is still closed. Photo by Greg Reis.

Beavers were introduced into Lundy Canyon long ago, and in recent years have been spreading to other nearby creeks such as Wilson Creek and DeChambeau Creek. Dead beavers have been seen more than once in the last several years along Mono Lake between Old Marina and Lee Vining Creek.

About three weeks ago we were informed by Dr. Roland Knapp of beaver sign along Lee Vining Creek below the diversion dam. Friday morning I took the photos found here–click on a photo to (more…)

"Lundy Canyon Fall" is one of the images on display in the Committee gallery. Photo courtesy of Robb Hirsch.

Field biologist by trade, naturalist by heart, and photographer by passion, Robb Hirsch has traveled through Africa, Central America, and the Western United States. He enjoys spending extended periods of time in the backcountry to experience the natural history of the ecosystem at hand; his photography is an extension of this love for the natural world. Scouting locations incessantly, Robb attempts to combine alluring locations and complementary illumination. His images are known for their compelling subjects, careful compositions, and fine light.

Robb’s exhibit in the Committee gallery focuses on Mono Lake, the Eastern Sierra, and Yosemite. Stop by and take a look!

We are all getting bulked up on the white stuff. Yesterday I spent six hours shoveling between my roof and the berm left by the snow plow. It’s a pleasure to see this much snow, and it’s the first time in a while that this much has fallen around Mono Lake. We measured 33.2″ from Monday to Friday this week at our weather station here in Lee Vining. Thursday’s storm (1-21-2010)  set all-time low barometric pressure records for the San Joaquin Valley, to Reno, to Las Vegas. I don’t know if there’s an official barometer for Lee Vining, but the pressure dropped to just above 983 millibars/29.04 inches on one local weather station, the the lowest I’ve ever seen it.

A view to the north from the south-bound lanes of Highway 395, through the middle of Lee Vining.

Yep, the snow is still falling—sometimes fast, sometimes with big heavy flakes, but always, falling. It’s beautiful, and exciting, and the roofs are shedding like little avalanches and here in the office we’re taking turns outside with shovels. Greg said it looked like there was one hour around lunch when it snowed 3 inches just behind the office. Santiago said in one 45 minute period we got 2 inches in front of the store. I got the lucky shovel shift with our awesome town plow driver: shovel out a pile, swipe with big plow blade, repeat.

Here are some photos (more…)

Lee Vining-ites woke from last night’s clear starry skies to slow encroaching snow this morning. The snow started coming down around 9:00 am, and now at 10:30, it’s definitely sticking and starting to accumulate. I went out and shot a couple of photos … we’ll see if this storm is worth doing before-and-after shots!

If you are traveling in the area please, please drive carefully. We’ve had two bad accidents close to town in the last week … and that was before the snow even started to fall. As I took these photos out in the street just now people were flying by way too fast—I try to remind myself that we carry our most precious cargo, the people we love and care about, in our cars.

10:30 am on Monday, January 18---Highway 395 looking north from the Mono Lake Committee.

It’s Sunday afternoon at the Mono Lake Committee office here in Lee Vining and I just got back from a mission to photograph what looks like it could be another airborne particulate matter (dust storm) record-breaker of a day. While out photo-documenting at various promontories around the basin it occurred to me that monophiles might actually be curious about what the strong wind gusts we experience in the Mono Basin are like.

The Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District measures dust storms at Mono Lake, and their monitoring stations have the most accurate data. But here’s more of a personal account of what it’s like.

When Geoff calls to say that you can’t see Paoha Island from the stretch of Hwy 395 along the lake, I grab the camera (more…)