A note from the editor:
Do you remember setting up dominoes to knock over when you were a kid? It seemed to take forever, requiring concentration to line them up, to not bump the table, to watch for an errant sibling who could cause disaster. It didn’t feel safe to leave the fragile project, not even for a second, until all the pieces were set.
And then, when everything was ready, the delicious anticipation of knocking over that first domino…
We’ve been setting up the dominoes at Mono Lake for years. Documenting air quality violations, monitoring alkali fly health, ferrying scientists out to study the birds. Working with community groups in Los Angeles, attending City Council meetings, and touring reporters around the Mono Basin. We’ve been running scenarios through the Mono Lake models to understand the effects of different water diversion scenarios. We have kept Mono Lake in front of Sacramento decision makers and strategized with our lawyers.
Thousands of Mono Lake Committee members have been setting up dominoes too. Every donation, every visit to the lake, every comment letter, every purchase in the bookstore is setting pieces to fall the right way when the time comes.
Even DWP has set up some dominoes, believe it or not. With its push to expand the Tillman Plant (see page 8) and focus on increasing recycled water capacity, stormwater capture, and better local water supplies—yielding far more than what it takes from the Mono Basin—DWP has added a line of very convincing dominoes.
The State Water Board must be the one to tip over that first domino. When they announce a date for the long-awaited hearing (see page 4), everything will move rapidly. But they have to do it.
I know this moment feels frustrating. We’ve been working for so long, not leaving the table for even a second lest the project tumble into chaos, waiting for the State Water Board to lift their finger and carefully push…
But I hope you can also feel the anticipation. The first domino is starting to tip, and the thrilling clatter of each carefully placed piece knocking the next toward a better future for Mono Lake will be just incredible.
The Mono Lake Newsletter has been the Mono Lake Committee’s flagship publication since our founding in 1978, reaching 16,000 members’ mailboxes three times a year. View the entire archive of more than 160 issues here.
Top photo by Elin Ljung. Newsletter cover photo courtesy of Forrest Galt.