We’re in the calm before the storm – or rather, the snowmelt! How are we going to handle all the water stored in the snowpack, when we’ve already seen plenty of flooding, avalanches, roof cave-ins and other troubles. Better yet, how will the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power handle the bountiful mess? Plenty of thoughts on those issues from Allison Weber, Keep Long Valley Green Coalition Organizer and Friends of the Inyo’s Water and Forest Campaign Manager. But if you don’t read the March issue of the KLVG Newsletter, “Every Last Drop,” you’ll never know. Happy reading…and if…
Louis Medina
In mid-March of this year, Friends of the Inyo’s Louis (Lou) Medina visited Manzanar National Historic Site for a private archeological tour arranged by our friends at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest. It was truly an eye-opening experience led by Manzanar’s Cultural Resources Program Manager Jeff Burton. Lou wrote about the experience in English for this week’s issue of The Sierra Reader, and in Spanish for El Sol de la Sierra. His front-page story also reminds readers of the upcoming Manzanar Pilgrimage scheduled to take place April 29. Download a pdf version of The Sierra Reader by clicking here. Download…
Conservation groups filed an appeal Tuesday, March 28, in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a lower court ruling allowing exploratory drilling in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains that threatens an endangered fish and a dwindling population of bi-state sage grouse. Read the full press release here.
Death Valley National Park needs hearty citizen science volunteers to help with annual monitoring of endemic plant species at the Eureka Dunes. This is a great activity for giving back to nature during Earth Day Month! Monitoring will be strenuous, requiring climbing to the tops of tall dunes and hiking up to five miles each day. Volunteers are encouraged to commit to an entire four-day monitoring period if possible. You can choose from the following dates: April 10-13, April 17-20, or April 24-27. At least two volunteers are needed for each four-day volunteer assignment. Volunteers will camp with park staff…
Friends of the Inyo celebrates with our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity today’s announcement by the US Fish & Wildlife Service that the Inyo Rock Daisy may require federal protection under the Endangered Species Act! This rare, delicate flower lives in the Conglomerate Mesa area, which we are working to protect. Read the full media release.
A bountiful, snowy winter. An impending flowerful spring. Lots of opportunities for engagement in water advocacy, exploration in Southern Inyo County, giving toward Eastern Sierra public lands protection by becoming a Friends of the Inyo business sponsor, and more! Read all about it in Friends of the Inyo’s Juniper E-Newsletter, which is hot off the press! Happy reading…and if you like what you read, happy sharing!
The Environmental Department of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley is looking to hire a Garden Manager to care for and expand its garden and farmers market, as well as to conduct community outreach. This is a 32-hour per week position with benefits. Click here to view qualifications, salary range based on experience, and other job details, as well as to download an application. Applications will be accepted until 5 pm (PST) Thursday, March 9. Please help spread the word.
Is any type of precipitation good? Not really. While Californians who are used to drought might gaze at a rainy day and think “we needed this,” the situation is a bit more complicated. We need snow falling on snow to create a healthy snowpack, yet with a changing climate we are seeing increased examples of rain falling on snow, which can lead to a dangerous icy crust, increased/premature melting, and “warm snow drought.” Keep reading! And please share!
By Lindsay Butcher, Stewardship Director SnowSchool is the nation’s largest on-snow winter ecology education program, with more than 30,000 annual participants at 60 sites across the United States. Developed by Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) to introduce underserved K-12 students to snow science and the wonder of winter landscapes, SnowSchool combines hands-on science education with snowshoe-powered outdoor exploration. The kiddos learn what the water cycle is and the part humans play in it, what our local watershed looks like and where we get our water from, where it goes, winter adaptations of animals/humans/plants, water-snow equivalency, and how to dig a snow…
Attend an online State Water Board information-gathering workshop tomorrow, Wednesday, February 15, from 1 to 4 p.m. Pacific Time. Write to the State Water Board by March 17 asking it to suspend water diversions by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) until Mono Lake rises back to a healthy, sustainable level. Find out how you can get involved.