Naturalist notes
Winter in the Mono Basin has more dark hours than light, chillingly cold air, and a silence so profound it feels physical. It is either a time of rest, of moving slowly, of torpor to reduce the toll simply existing…
Tag: Mono Lake Newsletter
California Gulls catch a break
Each spring tens of thousands of California Gulls migrate inland to their nesting grounds on Mono Lake’s islets. Because of the lake’s current low level, the landbridge to the islets is once again becoming exposed, which increases the threat of…
DWP rebuffs cooperative solution to air quality problem at Mono Lake
Last fall the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District hosted a Mono Air & Water Workshop in Lee Vining. The purpose of the workshop was to initiate a dialogue among stakeholders, agencies, and the Great Basin governing board to…
Groundwater exports benefit Los Angeles, impact Mono Lake
DWP captures more than streams in the Mono Basin Heading south from Mono Lake, drivers on Highway 395 zoom past a road junction marked with a sign for a mysterious “West Portal.” Portal to what? Is there a matching one…
Winter & Spring 2022 Mono Lake Newsletter now online
Here at the Mono Lake Committee, we very much enjoy knowing detailed bits of obscure Mono Basin knowledge. Often these pieces of information are important, but they aren’t always particularly interesting, especially on their own. Some examples: In April 1983,…
Setting stream restoration into motion
Mono Lake Committee and partners start implementing State Water Board Order 21-86 This winter Mono Lake Committee staff were even busier than usual, working to set Order 21-86 into motion to initiate an exciting new phase of restoration for Mono…
Covering up the air quality problem at Mono Lake: Just add water
“The principal values plaintiffs seek to protect, however, are recreational and ecological—the scenic views of the lake and its shore, the purity of the air, and the use of the lake for nesting and feeding by birds … it is…
Fall 2021 Mono Lake Newsletter now online
All the dictionary definitions of “restoration” apply to the State Water Board’s new Order 2021-86, which you’ll read about in the pages of this Newsletter. My favorite definition is “restitution of something taken away or lost.” Restoration work began in…
Summer 2021 Mono Lake Newsletter now online
When you look at Mono Lake, what do you see? Some people see a pristine landscape and others see a place marked by human engineering. Some see it as otherworldly and some see the most beautiful place on Earth. Some…
Winter & Spring 2021 Mono Lake Newsletter now online
As I write this note it feels like spring is on its way. The sun’s a little warmer and the birds a little more vocal. It feels like we’re turning a corner in this pandemic too. And there’s good news…