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UPDATES ON THE BLOG
Summer Stewardship Season Goes Out with a Bang on National Public Lands Day Mother nature sent our stewardship events calendar out in style with moody skies and a clear indication that summer was indeed over. Saturday, September 28th was National Public Lands Day, and we celebrated with two stewardship events. We partnered with the Bodie Hills Conservation Partnership and the Bureau of Land Management to rehabilitate some fencing to let-down fencing that is friendlier to sage grouse, deer, and pronghorn antelope. Further south on the 395, our Stewardship Crew partnered with the Inyo National Forest, the Eastern Sierra 4WD Club,…
25th Anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act This October, Friends of the Inyo and folks across the California desert are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act (CDPA), the act that established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and 69 wilderness areas. The CDPA created a collective of protected lands that draws millions of visitors from all over the world each year, driving local economies and creating jobs. These protected lands are the backbone of our tourism economy, provide military security, and make this region a great place to live and…
In April this year, Friends of the Inyo submitted comments on an Environmental Assessment proposing exploratory drilling for lithium in Panamint Valley. This project, lead by Battery Minerals Inc., proposes four drill sites north of Trona located off Ballarat Rd, Wingate Rd., and Indian Ranch Rd. In early August, much to the disappointment of Friends of the Inyo, the project was approved by the BLM. Battery Minerals Inc. can move forward with exploration operations. In our comments, we highlight a number of inadequacies in the environmental assessment. For example, it’s possible that the projects groundwater consumption will reduce water flows…
Canadian based Radius Gold has filed a preliminary application to begin gold mining exploration in the heart of the Bodie Hills near the Dry Lakes Plateau and Rough Creek drainage. This new proposal was recently brought before the Mono County Land Development Technical Advisory Committee for consideration. The proposed exploration site sits on a split parcel of state leased mineral rights land and private land used for cattle ranching. You can access the “pre-application” to Mono County click here. Access for the exploration is within the BLM managed Bodie Wilderness Study Area (WSA). The WSA is subject to restrictions…
Though the cliché is the enemy of originality, they often develop because there are nuggets of truth in there. In this case, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” has proven to be the apt descriptor of our summer season of stewardship thus far. We kicked things off at the 10th Annual June Lake Trails Day, where 65 volunteers came out to take care of the Rush Creek & Parker Bench Trails, and clean up around Gull and June Lakes. What a great day! The next weekend, we partnered with the Sierra Eastside Mountain Bike Association (SEMBA) to brush the Lower…
Friends of the Inyo and conservation groups around the county are fighting back against a terrible rule change that would fundamentally undermine the Forest Service’s NEPA policies and practices. Specifically, the proposed changes would create loopholes to increase the speed and scale of resource extraction, including logging and mining, while eliminating public awareness and input on up to 93% of proposed projects. Additionally, the Forest Service has proposed several new “categorical exclusions” that would allow the agency to move project planning behind closed doors by excluding the public from the decision-making process and eliminating any science-based review of impacts to water, wildlife, and recreation. Read…