Conservation has prevailed once more in Bridgeport! On August 2nd, 2011, the Mono Board decided not to support a resolution for Bodie Wilderness Study Area Release nor an endorsement for H.R. 1581. Thousands of letters and petition signatures over the last year have sent a strong message to the Board stating that the Bodie Hills are a special place worthy of protection, and inappropriate for industrial land use and development. You can still advocate for preservation of America’s Treasured landscapes like the Bodie Hills by contacting the elected officials of Mono County and Congress, click here for more info.
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The Inyo National Forest is proposing to construct one or two small vault toilets in the Buttermilk area of the Bishop Creek drainage. In the face of increased recreation in the area, we feel the toilets are necessary to minimize visitor impact to the area. Please read the attached Scoping Letter and Project Map for more details. As an organization, Friends of the Inyo supports placing the initial toilet at Location 2. We feel location 2 provides better access than location 1 for the majority of users, and has a more discrete location. According to the scoping letter, an additional…
There are lots of issues on BLM land currently underway in the Eastern Sierra. The BLM lands are sometimes put in the shadow of the vast expanses of US Forest Service and National Park lands like Death Valley, the John Muir Wilderness, and newly added White Mountains Wilderness, but they should not be overlooked. In the Eastern Sierra, they include the Bodie Hills, Granite Mountain and Owens Peak Wilderness (photo shown) areas, and the Alabama Hills, as well as many more extraordinary places that make up the East Side. Here are just some of the many preservation issues, on lands…
Bishop AmeriCorps members serving at the Eastern Sierra Land Trust and Friends of the Inyo are volunteering at the non-profit Sierra Bounty Produce Collective in honor of César Chávez Day, March 31. AmeriCorps members Hillary Behr and Ian Bell are helping out at Sierra Bounty Produce Collective, an organization dedicated to promoting grassroots efforts to enhance the ecological, social, and economic sustainability of local agriculture in the Eastern Sierra of California. They will be working at Apple Hill Ranch near Wilkerson. César Chávez was a farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist. César Chávez day is celebrated in California…
We’ve updated our Youtube page with some great new videos. We have a finalized version of our wonderful FOI Introductory video: http://www.youtube.com/user/friendsoftheinyo#p/a/u/2/OMQRZuTBCZo . This has some stunning footage of Sierra landscapes, animals, and plants. We also have a great short video on the Bodie Hills: http://www.youtube.com/user/friendsoftheinyo#p/a/u/0/inEDsOBkkbM . This video is a great overview of the Bodies and offers some breathtaking landscape shots. Finally, we’ve got a video recapping last month’s Joshua Flat exploration hike into the Inyo Mountains: http://www.youtube.com/user/friendsoftheinyo#p/a/u/1/h6X5AzxRI0Y . Be sure to be there next time, when we journey up Chocolate Mountain on February 20th. Thanks all. Happy viewing!
Tuesday, December 7 is a Friends of the Inyo shopping day at Juniper Ridge! Buy wild-crafted products such as sachets, soaps and incense and Juniper Ridge matches dollar for dollar. Even if you’ve missed the FOI day, please support this company that supports defending western wilderness.
December 3, 4 and 9, Friends of the Inyo hosts The Wild & Scenic Film Festival for the fourth year running! We’re bringing three evenings of films focusing on outdoor exploration and environmental activism to the Eastern Sierra, plus great raffle prizes (raffle entry included with your ticket), food and drink. Take advantage of our special membership offer and go to the festival for FREE: Renew or join before December 3 and get FREE tickets to the film festival! You’ll get 1 ticket per $35 donation; two tickets per $50 donation; and an all-festival pass for two per donation of…
The Coyote Flat area just up the mountains from Bishop is one of the most phenomenally magnificent areas that one can drive right up to. With excellent spring wildflower displays and striking fall colors against the sage and piñon pine, this has been a popular destination for both motorized and non-motorized recreation for decades. Relictual mining sites and roads are somewhat noticeable, but overall the area is in relatively pristine condition. This past Saturday I went up with the Eastern Sierra 4-wheel Drive Club and the US Forest Service to place some carsonite signs; we put to bed some older…
Friends of the Inyo Bookkeeper/Finance Manager Overview – The Finance Manager is responsible for the day-to-day financial operations of Friends of the Inyo. Responsibilities include billing, taxes, contract management, investment management, accounting, payroll and benefit administration Much of this work is currently conducted in cooperation with FOI’s Office Manager. As described, the Finance Manager is a part time position with an approximate weekly commitment 20 hrs/wk to 32 hrs/wk. Please submit resume and professional references to Stacy Corless via email at stacy@friendsoftheinyo.org. Job Duties by Area: Financial – Maintain and use an accounting system (currently Quickbooks for…
July 10th Margy Verba and Jack Shipley lead a wonderful hike to Bodie Peak with about 15 participants. Flowers were abunduant. The voluminous clouds created a great back drop and spared us the water drops. The area is so incredibly rich with wildlife. A few antelope were seen as well as all the small critters. The hills were still green two weeks later when we returned to traverse the Dry Lakes Plateau and hike up Arastra Creek. The Bodie Hills are absolutely worth preserving! Sydney Quinn