Green grass with fluffy seed heads lines the shore of a lake, tufa formations are in the water offshore.

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DWP withdraws petition for Rush Creek flow waiver

Thank you, letter writers! Thank you to the Mono Lake Committee members and supporters who sent many hundreds of letters to the State Water Board spotlighting DWP’s short-sighted plan. DWP ended up withdrawing its flow waiver request because of the…

Broken Grant valve threatens restoration

Mono Lake Committee proposes reasonable mitigations to achieve required Rush Creek flows Since 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) has used Grant Lake Reservoir to collect, store, and divert fresh water from Mono Basin streams to…

2025 Andrea Lawrence Award goes to Martha Guzman

On the evening May 8, one hundred Eastern Sierra friends, community members, advocates, and partners gathered, perched cozily in Parallax Restaurant on the side of Mammoth Mountain, to celebrate passionate engagement with community and the land, and this year’s Andrea…

Six kids swimming in Mono Lake, with one kid floating on their back with goggles on, while surrounded by tufa rocks and with tufa towers in the distance.

8: The future of Mono Lake

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” John Muir Everyone benefits when there is water in Mono Lake—from Los Angeles residents who rely on Mono Basin streams for some…

Hundreds of small shorbirds bathed in golden light, in flight, on the shore, and in the water at Mono Lake in front of tufa towers.

7: The birds of Mono Lake

The Mono Basin is an oasis for hundreds of species of birds, many of which rely exclusively on alkali flies and brine shrimp for sustenance. The lake is critical habitat for California Gulls, Eared Grebes, and phalaropes. Learn more about…

Hundreds or alkali flies take flight from pupa.

6: A buffet of flies and shrimp

Mono Lake is like an all-you-can-eat buffet of flies and shrimp for the millions of birds that come here. Alkali Flies As you walk along the shore, you may notice swarms of alkali flies buzzing about, but don’t worry, these…

Yellow fog rises from Mono Lake, obscuring the darkened tufa towers.

5: Mono Lake’s unique water

Have you ever gone for a swim in Mono Lake? The lake is 2.5 times saltier than the ocean so you can easily kick back and float in the water. But why is this a salt-water lake? Because Mono does not…

About 60 people holding handmade signs supporting Mono Lake and the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve cheering and waving and showing a lot of spirit and joy while standing on the small platform at County Park overlooking Mono Lake.

4: The water story

Where you stand now is the management level for Mono Lake—6,392 feet in elevation above sea level. One day, Mono Lake’s water will again reach this level, but ensuring this was a long struggle. In 1976, a group of researchers, including…