Join Friends of the Inyo and our partner, Conservation Lands Foundation, in urging Congress to support increased funding for the Bureau of Land Management for the maintenance and protection of Public Lands today and for future generations. With voting on Fiscal Year 2025 Interior Appropriations set to happen in the coming weeks, your comments will be MOST EFFECTIVE if received by July 9. Get involved today!
Legislative Engagement
Protect Eastern Sierra Water! At 9am on Thursday 5/9, representatives from Inyo County and LADWP will meet to discuss LADWP’s plans for pumping water from the Eastern Sierra for the 2024-2025 runoff year. Let’s make our voices heard. Come to this meeting and advocate for reduced pumping and ecosystem recovery.
The Inyo/Los Angeles Technical Group, which consists of representatives from Inyo County and LADWP, will meet Thursday morning, May 9, in Bishop, to examine technical aspects of water management (LADWP’s Draft Annual Operations Plan). Attend in person or virtually and make your voice heard for Eastern Sierra water protection!
Today, during National Park Week (which lasts from April 20-28), 68 community-based organizations are calling upon the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Forest Service and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to increase national park and federal recreational land access to immigrants and unbanked individuals. Leading this initiative are Friends of the Inyo and GreenLatinos. The organizations released a COMMUNITY SIGN-ON LETTER addressed to heads of the U.S. departments of Interior, Homeland Security, and Agriculture, and aforementioned agency leads, calling for inter-agency cooperation to: Provide an America the Beautiful Pass as a “Welcome to America” gift to each…
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.
(Photo by Diana Tomback) In a December 14 press release, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced a final action to list the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service has concluded that the whitebark pine is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout its range. Service Regional Director Matt Hogan said, “As a keystone species of the West, extending ESA protections to whitebark pine is critical to not only the tree itself, but also the numerous plants, animals, and watersheds that it supports.” The final rule to list…
On August 3rd, attend virtually the first ever Great Basin Water Justice Summit, which is bringing together diverse water protectors from Eastern California, Nevada, and Utah to discuss water justice issues. Then, later in the week, attend in person a movie screening of award-winning local short films on water justice. Two dates and locations to choose from: Cerro Coso Community College Bishop Campus Friday, Aug. 5th, and Mammoth Campus Saturday, Aug. 6th. These events are FREE and open to the public.
For the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) to fulfill its protective purpose, it is essential that the plan go beyond a simple recitation of resources and issues and focus on current and future actions that could harm the free-flowing condition, outstandingly remarkable (OR) values, segment classification, and water quality of the protected river. Unfortunately, the draft CRMP for the Owens River Headwaters Wild and Scenic River (WSR) fails this test. In particular, the CRMP and accompanying Resource Assessment fail to provide crucial information about groundwater extraction from aquifers that contribute to the flow of the Owens River Headwaters WSR.
The plan for a wastewater treatment system in Devils Postpile National Monument represents proactive efforts of the National Parks Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to address the current failing wastewater system. This project as currently described will protect public lands and reduce the maintenance burden on management agencies. Specifically the proposed septic system will protect waterways from contamination by eliminating the need for aging mechanical force mains and lift stations. Removing the aging mechanical infrastructure will reduce danger of failure and accidental discharge, reduce the agency’s energy costs, and reduce maintenance needs.
The Amargosa River is one of the crown jewels of the desert southwest, providing a globally important resource for biodiversity, hydrology, and recreation. It is also one of the most fragile ecosystems in North America, and must be managed with the highest possible level of conservation. Water and protection of flows The Amargosa River is unique among the Wild and Scenic River system in that it is entirely reliant on groundwater discharge for its flows. Essentially all of the ORVs for which the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River was designated depend on sustained groundwater flows for their survival. As such,…