A report from Tioga Pass
Like we did last year, yesterday my husband and I ventured up Highway 120 West on bikes and skis to check out the snow conditions at Tioga Pass. Caltrans has plowed the road clear of snow all the way up…
Elin, Communications Coordinator
Reserve your spot on a Mono Lake canoe tour
Reservations are now available for this summer’s Mono Lake canoe tours. Tours happen every weekend from mid-June through August and include Labor Day this year, Monday, September 1. Canoe tours are a wonderful way to experience Mono Lake. Glide through…
Winter & Spring 2025 Mono Lake Newsletter
Did you know there’s a tiny mammal (see photo below) in the Mono Basin that had never been photographed alive until last fall? Mono Lake and the Mono Basin are full of wonders that inspire that type of question. The…
Mount Lyell shrew photographed alive for the first time near Mono Lake
Until last fall, the Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli) was the only known mammal in California that had never been photographed alive, despite being scientifically identified more than 100 years ago. That changed in November 2024 when three researchers successfully…
Salt Sage Rice and Beans: the Birth of an Ecologist
This essay, written by John G. T. Anderson, appears in the 2025 Mono Lake Calendar. “frost and fire working together in the making of beauty” —John Muir “All that is holding us together is stories and compassion” —Barry Lopez “For the sake…
Water exports from the Mono Basin begin
This year, in a significant change of operations, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) is moving less water out of the Mono Basin than the maximum allowed. Existing California State Water Resources Control Board rules allow for…
Fall 2024 Mono Lake Newsletter now online
It has been a long, glorious fall season at Mono Lake this year. Warm, clear days have stretched on for weeks, lighting up the changing leaves in the canyons and enticing visitors to hike and camp long into October. Crisp…
30th anniversary of the day “we saved Mono Lake”
“Today, my friends, we’ve done the right thing. Today, we saved Mono Lake.”—Marc Del Piero, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, September 28, 1994 On September 28, 1994, the California State Water Resources Control Board issued Decision 1631,…
Fall colors starting in the Mono Basin
Fall color season is off to a good start in the Eastern Sierra with a cold snap last week that kicked things into gear! Here in the Mono Basin the aspens, cottonwoods, and willows are steadily turning more colorful every…
Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area 40th anniversary celebration
Video of the Scenic Area 40th anniversary speakers Thank you to Byron Wolter of Grumpy Golden Entertainment in Bishop, California, for this video. Forty years ago, in 1984, Congress established the first Scenic Area designation in the country—the Mono Basin…