C O V E R P H O T O B Y A R Y A D E G E N H A R D T
R O S A N N E C A T R O N
Early season snow and fall color in Lundy Canyon.
The
Mono Lake Newsletter
is a quarterly publication of theMono Lake Committee. Written material contained in thisnewsletter may be quoted or reproduced for review, reporting,educational purposes, or related non-profit uses; a copy of thepublication is requested. Reproduction or quotation for otherpurposes may be approved upon written request.ISSN #0275-6633. Copyright © 2011 Mono Lake Committee.Printed on 100% recycled paper.
Directors Emeriti
Helen Green • Ed GrosswilerGenny SmithBrent Coeur-Barron, Corporate CounselFounded by David Gaines in 1978
Staff
Executive Director...........................Geoffrey McQuilkinEastern Sierra Policy Director ...................Lisa CuttingEducation Director ....................................Bartshé MillerCommunications Director...............Arya DegenhardtOffice Manager .....................................Rosanne CatronMembership Coordinator .............................Ellen KingInformation & Restoration Specialist .........Greg ReisPolicy Coordinator ...............................Morgan LindsaySacramento Policy Associate ...........Betsy ReifsniderOutdoor Experiences Mgr .....Santiago M. EscruceriaLA Education Coordinator...........Herley Jim BowlingLA Outreach Education Coord ...........Jennifer OdumCommunications Coordinator .....................Elin LjungInfo Center & Bookstore Manager ............Jessica HornBookkeeper ......................................Donnette HuseltonOutdoor Education Instructors ........................................................................................Chelle DeLong, Will JevneInterpretive Tour Associate .....................Duncan KingProject Specialist ...................................Carolyn WeddleInfo Center & Bookstore Assistant ............Russ Reese
Mono Lake OfficeInformation Center & Bookstore
Highway 395 at Third StreetPost Office Box 29Lee Vining, California 93541(760) 647-6595
Mono Lake Committee Mission
The Mono Lake Committee is a non-pro
fi
t citizens’ group dedicated to protectingand restoring the Mono Basin ecosystem, educating the public about MonoLake and the impacts on the environment of excessive water use, and promotingcooperative solutions that protect Mono Lake and meet real water needs withouttransferring environmental problems to other areas.
2
Mono Lake Newsletter – Fall 2011
Board of Directors
Sally Gaines, Mammoth Lakes, Chair Tom Soto, Santa Monica, SecretaryDavid Kanner, Redwood City, TreasurerMartha Davis, RiversideVireo Gaines, Mammoth LakesRichard Lehman, FresnoSherryl Taylor, Mammoth LakesDoug Virtue, San Pedro
info@monolake.orgmonolake.orgmonobasinresearch.org
M
ONO
L
AKE
NEWSLETTER
Fall 2011Volume XXXIII, Number 2
Los Angeles Office
1718 Wellesley AvenueLos Angeles, California 90025-3634
I
t’s fall—time to re
fl
ect on the summer behind and prepare for the winter ahead.Looking back, there is one particular moment, a little window into a day atthe Mono Lake Committee. It was an unassuming summer afternoon, and themoment was as simple as this: Bartshe stuck his head in the of
fi
ce door and said, “TheForest Service is cutting their South Tufa tours. They’re not doing them anymore.”At the time we were knee deep in the news that Mono Lake was on the state park closure list. Forest Service budget cuts already meant friends doing good work atthe Scenic Area Visitor Center were being laid off. It felt like a last straw, like big,important things were literally crumbling around us.My introduction to Mono Lake was on a South Tufa tour in my senior year of high school. Years later, as an intern for the Committee I crafted my own SouthTufa tour to share this place with people who were brave and curious enough tobump down the dirt road and spend an hour at the lake. The scienti
fi
c, legal, andnatural history that is explored in those tours is deep, vast, and critical to MonoLake’s ongoing protection.These things—access to the lake, state reserve rangers, education programs—they are bricks in the wall of protection for the lake. If people can’t visit MonoLake, that’s a problem. If people don’t have the opportunity to learn about theMono Basin, that’s a problem. Shifts in the economic and political landscape affectthe way we work towards the change we seek in the physical landscape, and theseshifts can happen in the blink of an eye. That’s why the Committee is here—to dothe work of coming up with sustainable solutions at any given moment. In thesepages I hope you’ll see not only news of problems, but also solutions. In fact,we’re crossing our
fi
ngers that by the time this
Newsletter
makes it to your mailboxyou’ll already be seeing some of the solutions in action.It’s fall—the wood is stacked, the shovels are ready, and we’re hunkering downfor another season of solutions for this place we all love so much.—Arya Degenhardt, Communications Director
Leave a Comment