A close up of yellow wildflowers overlooking the teal waters of Mono Lake on a cloudy day.

Category: Stories

An update about the Inn Fire near Mono Lake

The Inn Fire near Mono Lake is now 70% contained at 728 acres in size thanks to the diligent efforts of more than 500 fire personnel who responded quickly after it ignited last Thursday, May 22 at 3:30pm. The cause…

Inn Fire near Mono Lake started Thursday

Last Thursday, May 22 a wildfire started along Highway 395 near Mono Lake. Named the Inn Fire, it began at approximately 3:36pm and spread rapidly on both sides of the highway. Local Lee Vining and Mono City Volunteer Fire Departments…

Tufa towers stand tall in turquoise Mono Lake water, with snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains behind it.

Mono Lake Committee Scholarship open for applications

Each year the Mono Lake Committee supports local students with plans to attend college or other vocational training within a year of graduation who display a personal connection with Mono Lake and the Mono Lake story. We award two Mono…

Mono Lake Committee storefront through the years

Here you see the earliest version of the Mono Lake Committee headquarters right after we rented it in 1979. We started with a card table out front. Looking back, it was fortuitous that this was the only storefront available on…

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…

Mono Lake Kootzaduka’a Tribe formalizes preferred spelling

Earlier this month, the Mono Lake Kootzaduka’a Tribal Council established one official spelling for the Tribe’s name: Kootzaduka’a. This spelling better represents the word’s pronunciation in the Kootzaduka’a language. The phonetic spelling is more accurate to the sounds in the…

Summer staff reflect on their paths to Mono Lake

Every summer, the Mono Lake Committee hires interns who work in interpretation, education, science, information, and more, while living in Lee Vining for the months they work here. Many permanent staff at the Committee today will tell you how they…

2024 Mono Lake Committee Scholarship recipients

Last month, Mono County high school seniors celebrated graduation throughout the Eastern Sierra. The Mono Lake Committee awarded $1,000 scholarships to two very deserving seniors: Kaelyn Lange from Coleville High School and Alden Seiberling from Lee Vining High School. Along…

Mono and Walker: Lakes with parallel streams of history

It’s an old story. A State Fisheries biologist is assigned to a remote area and begins patrolling and documenting the abundant fisheries there. He becomes concerned when upstream water diversions start to degrade the riparian ecosystems that he was assigned…

Kern River flows through Bakersfield again

Water is flowing down the Kern River in Bakersfield for the first time in many years, thanks to the combination of abundant snowmelt and an injunction preventing water diversions from drying up the river. Record runoff from last winter’s historic…