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February 9, 1998
Mono Lake Committee looks to future at 20th anniversary Press Contacts: Kay Ogden, Marketing Director Geoff McQuilkin, Communications Director Mono Lake Committee (760) 647-6595
For Immediate Release
Mono Lake friends and supporters are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Mono Lake Committee this year as the waters of the lake continue to rise. The Committee—a 17,000 -member, non-profit group—spearheaded 16 years of negotiation and litigation which resulted in the lake’s protection in 1994. "We are celebrating by thanking our many friends who have worked with us to save Mono Lake, and we are joining with new and longtime supporters to ensure that the lake stays protected and that the Mono Basin ecosystem thrives," said Frances Spivy-Weber, Executive Director. Appropriately enough, the celebration is starting in Los Angeles, which used to divert about 100,000 acre-feet of water a year from the Mono Basin. While the city will still divert some water from Mono Basin streams, water conservation and water recycling programs are allowing Mono Lake to be protected without transferring the city’s water demands to other sensitive areas. The Committee’s anniversary events get started on March 29, when the Committee will host the southern California premiere of "The Battle For Mono Lake," a Stephen Fisher Production produced in association with Public Broadcasting Station KTEH, San Jose. A forum discussion entitled, "The Mono Lake Committee in Los Angeles: Water Conservation and Recycling, Community Based Organizations, and Education," and reception follow the film screening. But the Committee’s biggest birthday bash will be in the Mono Basin beginning with Restoration Days (September 4-7) and the High Sierra Fall Century (September 12), and wrapping up with a party for regional residents on October 23 in Mammoth Lakes. The celebration over Labor Day weekend will kick off Friday evening with bluegrass band Rush Creek performing in Lee Vining. Saturday morning will feature a scientific forum for the public on waterfowl and waterfowl habitat, the traditional Rehydration Ceremony at Old Marina, all followed by a grand reunion of Mono Lake supporters at the Mono Lake County Park on Saturday afternoon. Throughout the weekend there will also be canoe tours, creek walks, morning birding trips, and other activities. The following Saturday, on September 12, bicyclists will gather at Whitmore Pool to begin a hundred-mile loop through the Mono Basin. The ride, a cooperative event run by the Committee and the Sierra Cycle Foundation, carries on the tradition of the Mono Lake Bike-A-Thon, which traveled from Los Angeles to Mono Lake for 17 years. Last year almost 300 people participated in the ride, raising funds for both Mono Lake and bicycle safety programs here in the Eastern Sierra.
20 years of success with more to go In 1941 when the City of Los Angeles began diverting Mono Lake's tributary streams to quench the thirst of a growing city, leaders did not consider the repercussions to Mono Lake and its ecosystem. In the late 1970s, a group of university students conducted the first comprehensive ecological study of Mono Lake. Alarmed at what they found, they united in 1978 to form the Mono Lake Committee to champion Mono Lake's cause. "The lake was dropping rapidly, and we could see the point approaching where it would be too saline to support any life," said Sally Gaines, one of the founding members and current co-chair of the Committee. "Our goal was not to stop diversions, but rather to balance them with protection of the lake’s fantastic birdlife and natural resources." For the last twenty years, the Mono Lake Committee has worked to secure more water for Mono Lake in an environmentally sound manner. After a decade and a half of litigation and public awareness campaigns, the effort culminated with the 1994 decision by the California State Water Resources Control Board to return some water to the streams that feed Mono Lake. In the end, the lake will rise about halfway to its original level. The Water Board also required that LA restore habitat lost due to the excessive diversions. Restoration measures developed to comply with the Water Board’s 1994 decision are expected to be announced this spring. "The 1994 decision set the stage for the next 20 to 50 years," said Heidi Hopkins, Eastern Sierra Policy Director. "The Committee can lift its eyes from the immediacy of the fight for water and work for long-term protection of Mono Lake. Making sure the protection secured so far stays in place, helping shape and track restoration, and never letting up on our efforts to educate the public about the connection between Mono Lake and the urban water tap – these are our challenges." Restoration in the Mono Basin is proposed in plans currently before the Water Board and is based on reinstating former natural processes at the lake, most importantly restoring streamflows in the lake’s diverted tributaries. An important role for the Committee will be to collaborate with experts and local residents on the best ways to revive lost cottonwood and willow forests along Mono Basin streams and reestablish freshwater habitat near the lake. But the Committee’s work isn’t solely focused on protection and science. Thousands of people take part in the organization’s educational activities each year. With field seminars, walking tours, canoe programs, slideshows, and special multi-day programs with Los Angeles youth, the Committee already has a busy educational schedule. These programs provide opportunities for youth and the public to gain greater understanding and appreciation of Mono Lake’s natural and human history. And according to Education Director Bartshe Miller, the Committee will be looking for ways to lead even more diverse and exciting programs in the coming years. Other challenges also lie ahead for the Committee. "The Committee's mission for the future will emphasize its role as a vital member of the Lee Vining community, helping to support the local economy in environmentally sound ways," is the way Kay Ogden described the Committee's plans. "Protection, as always, will be a community effort and a community benefit." To continue Mono Lake’s protection into the future, the Committee is also doing its best to see that water conservation, water recycling, and groundwater protection projects are made top priorities in southern California and statewide. Ultimately, Spivy-Weber points out, Mono Lake will only remain protected if California can meet the growing water needs of its citizens in decades to come. For more information about the Mono Lake Committee's 20th Anniversary celebration, or the Committee’s programs, visit their Mono Lake Website at www.monolake.org, or call the office in Lee Vining at 760-647-6595.
# # # The text of this press release may be downloaded from www.monolake.org/press # # #
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