On the wall at Mono Lake Committee headquarters, quietly perched above the fray, it reads, “People protecting Mono Lake for future generations.” There are many protectors—birders, scientists, students, lawyers … a bright star in that constellation, Terrence Finney passed away in November 2018, but his legacy will forever shine at Mono Lake.

Honored to have been part of hearings in his courtroom: restoration consultant Scott English, hydrogeographer Peter Vorster, and attorney Richard Roos-Collins with a photo (from Storm Over Mono) of Judge Terrence Finney, at the court memorial in January. Photo courtesy of Richard Roos-Collins.

According to the El Dorado County Superior Court, in Judge Finney’s 20 years of service, the Mono Lake case was “the biggest case of his career.” It certainly was vital to the protection of Mono Lake and restoration of the tributary streams.

In 1989 Judge Finney’s courtroom became the epicenter of (more…)

April 1 is the start of the 2019–2020 runoff year, celebrated by the official reading of the lake level. From there both the Mono Lake Committee and DWP take snowpack numbers, similar year types, and a bunch of other statistical data, crunch it all together, and come up with the Mono Lake Level Forecast report for the runoff year.

This year’s forecast is for a 1.5 foot net rise, which means that on April 1, 2020 we expect Mono Lake to be 1.5 feet higher than (more…)

The Mono Lake Committee, The Wilderness Land Trust, and Eastern Sierra Land Trust are partnering to permanently protect a 49.3-acre inholding in Lundy Canyon.

The property frames the upper entrance of this iconic Eastern Sierra canyon, is entirely within the Inyo National Forest, and includes a portion within the Hoover Wilderness and a portion adjacent to the Wilderness boundary within sight of the Lundy Canyon trailhead. This dramatic and scenic location is (more…)

Rosalie, right, was presented with one of the 2018 Mono Lake Committee Scholarships at the Lee Vining High School graduation. Photo by Ellen King.

Each year the Mono Lake Committee supports local students pursuing higher education and displaying a connection to Mono Lake with two $1,000 scholarships. High school seniors living in Mono County with firm plans to attend a 2- or 4-year college within a year of graduation are eligible to apply.

Students are asked to visit Mono Lake and answer the question: Why do places like Mono Lake matter?

The application can be found here, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday May 22, 2019 by 5:00pm.

You can find essays written by past recipients here. If you have questions regarding the application or would like to donate to the scholarship fund please contact Arya Harp by email or by calling (760) 647-6595 x111.

It’s that time of year again, when all eyes are on the Sierra snowpack, the level of Mono Lake, and spreadsheets.

How much will Mono Lake rise or fall this year? Photo by Andrew Youssef.

Just imagining this winter’s snowpack flowing down Mono Basin streams this spring brings a gleeful sigh of relief. But … spreadsheets? Yep, because spreadsheets, forecast models, experts, and in-depth Mono Basin hydrologic knowledge, when carefully woven together, are how we figure out the big question for Mono Lake: how much is the lake going to rise or fall this year?

You can see the full (more…)

Wishing you joy, peace, and plenty of snow this holiday season…

…from us here at Mono Lake to you, wherever you are.

The Mono Lake Committee’s 2018 Annual Report is now available!

The 2018 Mono Lake Committee Annual Report is now available! Cover photo courtesy of Richard Erb.

The report is full of photos of the Mono Lake Committee in action in our focus areas of protection, restoration, education, and scientific research. It also has the Committee’s (more…)

It’s the Mono Lake Committee’s 40th anniversary, so for Giving Tuesday we thought raising $4,000 for Mono Lake would be pretty clever.

But then an even-more-clever, anonymous donor challenged us to raise even more … $6,392 to be exact.

6392 feet above sea level is the management lake level—one of the Committee’s top goals. So now we’re extra motivated to raise the additional funds—for protection, restoration, education, and science at Mono Lake.

As Committee co-founder David Gaines said, “Mono Lake speaks for itself … it touches our hearts.” So we are going to kick Giving Tuesday off tomorrow at 6:30am with a live look at Mono Lake streaming on Facebook.

Grab your coffee and your yoga mat and join us for a quiet moment down at Mono Lake—from wherever you are.

Submitting images for consideration for the Mono Lake Calendar has never been easier, so if you have a beautiful shot, we’d love to see it! Now is the time—the deadline is Wednesday, October 31, 2018, and you can find submission information here.

We are looking for images of scenes within the watershed boundary of Mono Lake, and possible subjects include, but are not limited to: plants, geologic features, streams, (more…)

Join us for a reading and book signing with Naming Mt. Thoreau editor Laurie Glover and contributors Gary Snyder, Tom Killion, Kim Stanley Robinson, and more!

• 2:00pm on Sunday, September 30, 2018
• at the Lee Vining Community Center
• free and open to the public
• books by the authors will be for sale, and all proceeds from the event support the Mono Lake Committee’s work

The new book, Naming Mt. Thoreau, is edited by Laurie with contributions from Michael Blumlein, Dick Bryan, Darryl DeVinney, Hilary Gordon, Tom Killion, Paul Park, Kim Stanley Robinson, Carter Scholz, Gary Snyder, Christopher Woodcock, and David Robertson. (more…)