Blog

Will DWP increase Mono Basin diversions this year?

Better operating rules needed for Mono Lake to rise Water diversions to Los Angeles—and away from Mono Lake—began just after noon on January 31. With the turn of a control wheel, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP)…

Stormwater capture in Los Angeles hits new high

Local water supply strategy for LA gains momentum As Angelenos experience more extreme weather patterns, stormwater capture is stepping into the spotlight as a viable, and valuable, source of local water for Los Angeles. Between October 1, 2022 and April…

A hearing room with people seated in a semicircular room with reporters with large video cameras and a witness at the witness stand in front of a map display with Mono Lake on it.

Thirty years since Decision 1631 “saved” Mono Lake

“Today we saved Mono Lake,” announced California State Water Resources Control Board member Marc Del Piero back in 1994 upon the unanimous approval of Decision 1631, which established the mandate to protect Mono Lake at the 6,392-foot level. We are…

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…

Over-Snow Vehicle use in the Mono Basin

The Mono Lake Committee commented last October on the Inyo National Forest’s Proposed Action for Over-Snow Vehicle (OSV) Use Designation, focusing on the project area surrounding Mono Lake and in the greater Mono Basin. The Inyo sought comments from the…

Experience Ambientalia celebrates World Wetlands Day

Earlier this month Lee Vining students participating in the Experience Ambientalia program celebrated World Wetlands Day. In partnership with the Mono Lake Committee, local high school teachers, and our colleagues at Laguna Mar Chiquita in northern Argentina, these students took…

Walker Lake ringed by mountains with pine trees in the foreground.

Major water decision by Nevada Supreme Court

In a recent ruling, Sullivan v. Lincoln County, the Nevada Supreme Court changed the way water will be managed throughout the state. Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin Director of the Center for Biological Diversity, wrote about the decision: Pre-Sullivan, nearly every…

February starts snowy at Mono Lake

This winter season started with the driest autumn since 2013, with no measurable snow in Lee Vining as of the New Year. Then it snowed a little in January, but as of the end of January Lee Vining still only…

2024 Field Seminar registration opens February 1

The complete list of all the Mono Lake Committee’s 2024 Field Seminars is now available online here. Registration opens at 9:00am on Thursday, February 1 for Mono Lake Committee members. This year’s slate of 18 Field Seminars includes one-day and…

Ringing in 2024: Tangled in the Anthropocene

This essay, written by Stephen Trimble, appears in the 2024 Mono Lake Calendar. The great Western writer Wallace Stegner knew that “the Great Basin is a unifying force; wherever you live in it, you flow toward every other part.” And as…