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Get updates from Friends of the Inyo through our E-newsletter, The Juniper, Action Alerts, Event Alerts, and more!
UPDATES ON THE BLOG
February continues to be a busy month for Friends of the Inyo. In this month’s Juniper, you will have the chance to read updates on a number of projects. We also have a wide variety of events happening in the next few weeks and months. In Lone Pine, Bishop, Mammoth, and Bridgeport, we have events throughout the Eastern Sierra and we hope to see you around. And remember, early registration for the Owens Lake Bird Festival begins on February 15th and outings fill up fast. Open registration for non-members will begin on March 1st. So if you’re not a member yet, become one today to get access to register early. I hope you enjoy this month’s Juniper!
Action Alert: Inyo County Road Maintenance and Motorized Mixed Use Comments are needed on Inyo County Road Maintenance and Motorized Mixed Use on National Forest Roads. On Jan 13, 2020 the Inyo National Forest provided notice that it is considering granting easements and special use permits to Inyo County for eight roads on the White Mountain and Mount Whitney Ranger Districts of the national forest. The roads considered for easements are portions of Death Valley, Onion Valley, County, and Foothill Roads. Roads considered for special use permits include Division Creek, McMurray Meadows, Coyote and Mazourka Canyon. This proposed action, if…
Haiwee Geothermal Development Update In January 2020 the BLM released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a project that will expand the Haiwee Geothermal Leasing Area to 22,805 acres, almost triple in size. With this growth, BLM will change the management provisions of National Conservation Lands and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern to allow for geothermal energy production, infringing on Mojave ground squirrel populations, sacred tribal sites, desert tortoise land and more. Part of the leasing area is proposed to expand into a Development Focus Area (DFA) which was established by the DRECP. Friends of the Inyo is pushing…
Panamint Valley Lithium Update & Monitoring Opportunity Update Lithium exploration in Panamint Valley has been upheld through all levels of the NEPA process is set to move forward. All the proponent, Battery Minerals Inc., has to do is put a bond down with the BLM and they can begin drilling. It is tough to know when they will initiate exploration but in the meantime, we have a great opportunity for motivated environmentalists and volunteers to help us monitor the Panamint Valley project site. What is monitoring? In this case, monitoring is as simple as taking pictures of the drill sites…
Supporting Fire Restoration in the Eastern Sierra The Inyo National Forest (INF) is busy implementing the new Forest Plan and one of their first steps is an ambitious proposal to approve up to 200,000 acres of the Forest, outside of designated wilderness, for prescribed burning and associated fire restoration. Typically each prescribed fire project needs to go through its own environmental review, reducing the ability to increase the pace and scale of restoration activities. Under the Eastern Sierra Fire Restoration and Maintenance Project the Forest would be approved to implement prescribed fire and fuels treatment projects for a ten year…
In this Juniper you will find the opportunity to read the latest updates on the Alabama Hills, to learn about our support of fire restoration in the Eastern Sierra, and to read about your opportunity to participate in the Eastern Sierra Sustainable Recreation Partnership Public Workshops. And finally, the Owens Lake Bird Festival is coming soon. Make sure your membership is current so you can get access to early registration before outings fill up. We look forward to seeing you in April on Owens Lake!