With Labor Day Weekend coming up, we know the end of summer is drawing near. Sigh! But it’s been another exciting season in the world of Friends of the Inyo, as you will be able to tell from these narratives submitted by our hard-working Trail Ambassadors. Please enjoy reading about what they have been up to, share with your friends and networks, and, if you see them out on the trails, please say hello to them and thank them for their work. They will still be working with us and leading hikes till the end of September! Smiles all around….
Stories
Conglomerate Mesa needs our protection! Canadian company K2 Gold’s “modified” mining proposal could impact up to 15 acres of pristine lands that are sacred to Paiute-Shoshone and Timbisha-Shoshone peoples in Southern Inyo County, and a haven for thriving Joshua Trees and other threatened plants and animals. Join us Labor Day for a “Protect Rally” at Spainhower Park in Lone Pine, as we tell K2 Gold we want them to go home! Click on the image at left to download our flier. Help us share this information with others! Want to help us make posters for the rally? Come to Friends…
Read some exciting progress notes from our Trail Ambassadors, with an introduction and post-note from Stewardship Director Lindsay Butcher. It is hard to believe, but here we are- already halfway through the Trail Ambassador season! My how time zips by… Despite the multiple false starts of summer and the ongoing damage control from winter, our TAs have been up to some awesome work alongside our Forest Service partners. Here are some highlights from their last month of work. From Logan, TA on the Mt. Whitney Ranger District of the Inyo National Forest: My Favorite day this month- Overnight in the Eastern…
Emily Markstein, co-founder of NoHotCreekMine.com, has been hired on a temporary basis by Friends of the Inyo as our Campaign Manager, No Hot Creek Mine. Emily will play a key role in organizing volunteers to monitor KORE Mining’s operations at Hot Creek, which could start as early as September 1 of this year, to make sure the company stays within the bounds of its approved projects. She is also working on developing a number of outreach and educational activities for the coming months. Read our full media release, which also gives the background of the KORE Mining saga, and has…
Pine nuts, a high-energy food, helped sustain Native peoples of the Eastern Sierra through the winter. Friends of the Inyo’s annual impact report, which we usually release at mid-year to celebrate the previous year’s accomplishments, is symbolically named thus to acknowledge the support of our donors, funders, and volunteers, whose generosity sustains our work of protecting and caring for the land and water of the Eastern Sierra.
Caring for the Eastern Sierra also means caring for the people who live in the Eastern Sierra. Which is why, as part of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, Friends of the Inyo’s column, “Amigos de Nuestras Tierras” (“Friends of Our Lands”), which publishes in local Spanish-language weekly, El Sol de la Sierra, looks to highlight news that can help improve the quality of life for members of our local Hispanic community. In the latest two issue of El Sol, our column has been focusing on Cerro Coso Community College’s Associate Teacher Certificate of Achievement Program, a 12-unit course taught online, in Spanish,…
Go to any ghost town in the Western U.S., and, if you can see beyond the romanticism of wooden mineworker shacks, company stores, hoist houses, mine trolleys and railways in tunnels that no longer go anywhere, you will see the ugly ghosts of desecrated landscapes, exploited resources, short-lived fortunes, and broken dreams. Those are the Ghosts of Mining Past, and they can teach us much about the industry’s boom-and-bust curse. That is the legacy of mining. It always has been.
Many national parks now require entry fees to be paid via credit or debit card. With access to nature—a costly affair—already a challenge for Latinos, cashless access to national parks represents still another barrier for ubanked Latinos to enjoy the great outdoors. In response to this, Friends of the Inyo is hosting a FREE bilingual outreach event called “Naturaleza, Conectividad y Crédito” (“Nature, Connectivity and Credit”) in Bishop on July 15, as part of Latino Conservation Week. In partnership with AltaOne Federal Credit Union, Naturaleza, Conectividad y Crédito aims to help local Latinos and others apply for credit to facilitate…
By Joseph Miller, Indigenous Community Relations Coordinator Introduction Burners Without Borders is a volunteer organization devoted to providing innovative disaster relief solutions, and supporting underserved communities by participating in service projects that promote resiliency. Since its inception, Burners Without Borders has grown to a worldwide organization and has become a forerunner in creative solutions to bring about positive community change. The 2023 Burners Without Borders Summit was held on May 19th through May 21st on the Burning Man Project owned Fly Ranch, located on the Hualapai Flat near Gerlach, NV. This is what I witnessed and felt as a summit…
As we head into Memorial Day weekend after a long winter season, the Inyo National Forest would like to caution visitors to plan for a safe trip, while also being aware of winter’s impacts to its recreation sites. There is also a heightened risk of flooding, rock or landslides, debris flows, road or trail washouts and avalanches.