Friends: May is that in-between month when we apply Earth Day lessons learned in April, as we prepare for summer, which begins in June. Read about what Friends of the Inyo has been up to – with your support, of course – in the May Juniper! Happy reading! And if you like what you read, happy sharing!
Winter Travel Planning
Please help gather data regarding issues and successes of winter recreation to assist Inyo National Forest staff with Winter Travel Planning. We need your photos and experiences. Use an exciting app called RIMS (Recreation Impact Monitoring System) to make your voice heard about how you would like to see the forest used in winter!
Please attend one or more of these meetings and share your thoughts with Inyo National Forest staff. It is important to engage early and often on this critical piece of travel management, which will inform, well into the coming decades, how the forest is used in the winter.
Zoom in and learn about brave, intrepid women skiers of the Sierra backcountry throughout most of the last century, while you help support the work of Friends of the Inyo. The virtual action takes place from 6:30 to 8 on Friday, Feb. 11. See you on the virtual slopes!
With the New Year upon us, and winter raging out here in the Eastern Sierra, we are excited to do another season of Winter Recreation User Data surveys! In partnership with, and thanks to the generous support of Winter Wildlands Alliance, we will be in Rock Creek Canyon (weekends) and at Obsidian Dome (two weekdays per week), taking snow depth, tallying user numbers and type (walking, skiing, snowmobiling, etc…), and acting as an informational resource for users from January 8 to March 31. This data will help our Policy Team as they get ready to begin working on…
Update: Winter recreation survey at Rock Creek For the past few months Friends of the Inyo has been collecting winter recreation data at Rock Creek Sno-Park. Data collection will conclude March 28th and we will provide a final report to Winter Wildlands Alliance and the Inyo National Forest. The data collected will help FOI make informed comments on the Inyo National Forest’s Over-Snow Vehicle (OSV) planning process which is set to kick off next year. If you would like to learn more about the OSV planning by the Inyo National Forest, you can find more information here. This season was…
Winter Snow-User Surveys Top Image: Low Snow at Rock Creek Lake on 01/16/21. Now that pavement is likely under several feet of snow! This winter, Friends of the Inyo is excited to reprise a program last undertaken in the winter of 2016-17: the Winter Snow-User Surveys! On weekends and National Holidays from January 16 to March 28, Lindsay Butcher and I have been and will be at Rock Creek Road getting an idea of how much use our winter trailheads see, while also acting as a resource for local information and any comments, queries, or concerns the public may have….
Friends of the Inyo advocates for balanced winter recreation for all in the Eastern Sierra. We view winter recreation as a primary driver of our local economy and a major draw for residents and visitors to the area. Many of our 700 plus members use the Inyo National Forest backcountry in winter months for non-motorized recreation and value the diverse recreational opportunities the Forest provides. Friends of the Inyo is known for its collaborative work with motorized recreational users on the Forest and we look forward to working with the INF and multiple winter recreation user groups throughout this process….