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…)

The Mono Lake Committee invites you to submit photographs for the 2020 Mono Lake Calendar—we are seeking photographs of the highest caliber that capture the spirit and reflect the unique qualities of Mono Lake, its tributary streams, the high country, and wildlife of the Mono Basin.

Find the submission guidelines and forms here. The deadline for submissions, as always, is October 31.

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, mountains, weather, fall colors, and wildlife. Images of sand tufa (which are different from regular tufa towers) will not be considered due to the degradation affecting these features. Where possible, images identifiable within the context of Mono Lake’s and/or the Mono Basin’s unique scenic beauty will receive preference. In striving to represent the natural beauty of Mono Lake, images that are obviously or heavily filtered or manipulated will not be considered. (more…)

The Mono Lake Committee gives the Defender of the Trust Award to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to champion Mono Lake, its tributary streams, wetlands, and the public trust. The Mono Lake Defender of the Trust Award Dinner is a celebratory evening in the company of fellow champions of Mono Lake. This year the festivities will be held at The Mono Inn.

The evening begins with a wine tasting and silent auction hosted by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. Dinner is accompanied by inspiring speakers, entertaining stories, and the presentation of the Defender of the Trust Award.

This year we will honor (more…)

A memorial for Genny Smith is taking place on Sunday, September 2, 2018 from 12:30pm to dusk at the Hayden Cabin Museum in Mammoth Lakes.

The memorial will be a chance to remember Genny with her friends, family, and community members. Photos of Genny will be on display, as well as her copious notes from the conservation efforts she worked on during her life in Mammoth.

Starting at 1:00pm, representatives of organizations Genny supported—Mono Lake Committee, Friends of the Inyo, Eastern Sierra Land Trust, Mammoth Public Library—will each speak, followed by friends of Genny. The speeches will last until 3:00 or 4:00pm, and there will be tables with more information on display about each organization.

Genny was a longtime local naturalist, conservationist, and environmental champion who passed away in March. Family, friends, readers, colleagues, fans, and people she inspired are welcome to come remember Genny and celebrate the Sierra. We hope to see you there.

In celebration of their new book, Naming Mt. Thoreau, editor Laurie Glover, and contributors including Gary Snyder, Tom Killion, Kim Stanley Robinson, and more will be doing a reading and book signing this fall in Lee Vining.

Naming Mt. Thoreau is a beautiful and thoughtfully-crafted collection of essays, poems, and reflections. In the fall of 2014 this notable group of friends gathered to summit USGS Sierra Nevada peak 12,691 with the idea of renaming it “Mt. Thoreau” in honor of naturalist, philosopher, transcendentalist, and author Henry David Thoreau. Actually going through the process to formally name a peak is a daunting task, and this group felt that the act of getting together with a common purpose, climbing the peak, and then writing about it was a better—and more apt—path to the same goal. (more…)