For two decades, Friends of the Inyo has put hands on the land every summer season. We work to keep trails safe and clean, and to keep trailheads and other popular recreation spots beautiful and inviting. Normally, we host several volunteer clean-up events throughout the summer. But unfortunately, this summer is different.
As you have likely noticed, our Eastern Sierra public lands are being negatively affected by the recent surge of visitation and intense use. These effects are compounded by both the inability to hold clean-up events and a lack of resources caused by the pandemic. So, trash litters our trails and collects in our water. We can’t stand by and let that happen.
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Make a Donation
Help us raise $10,000 to extend the season of our Trail Ambassador Crew to address the impacts of the 2020 summer season.
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Join us in picking up trash at your favorite spots!
Going on a day hike? Bring a grocery bag to fill. Going into the backcountry? Bring an extra ziplock for the trash you find. Want to be like our Trail Ambassador Lindsay? Bring heavy-duty garbage bags and fill them up!
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Join the Eastern Sierra Trash Eliminators on Facebook!
The Sierra Trash Eliminators is a group dedicated to eliminating trash here in the Eastern Sierra. Friends of the Inyo proudly supports them, having donated a dozen trash grabbers and hundreds of trash bags. Join the group to find safe and socially-distant clean up events as well as discussion on what areas need our attention. Click here to request to join their group on Facebook.
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Win prizes! We’ll be giving away prizes all summer long.
Post your photos on social media using the hashtag and tag in your photo to enter our giveaway. A post will be chosen at random every Friday to win a prize.
1. Post a photo of you picking up trash on Instagram or Facebook
2. Use the hash tag #DontTrashTheTrails
3. Tag @FriendsoftheInyo in your photo
4. Tag two friends who love keeping the Eastern Sierra as clean as you do!
Prizes include:
- Art prints by local artist Ann Piersall Logan
- Hats by AnnP Hats
- A copy of local author Kendra Atleework’s new book, “Miracle Country”
- Patagonia hats
- Friends of the Inyo shirts, hats, and Klean Kanteen pint cups!
Take Action
Updates
Friends of the Inyo’s 2020 Backcountry Ranger Intern for the US Forest Service Each year Friends of the Inyo funds an intern for the Sierra National Forest with a generous donation from Rick Kattelmann and Sally Gaines. We are proud of the work and perspectives gained by David Carpenter in 2020 through his participation in the program. Read more about David and his experience with the Sierra National Forest below: Reflections on 2 Months in the High Sierra I always was a man of the wilderness. I was born in Denver, Colorado, and grew up not far away in Golden,…
Friends of the Inyo was onsite to lend trash bags and tools for a socially distanced volunteer clean up day organized by the Bishop Area Climbers Coalition. Click here to see beautiful pictures by Gayla Wolf featured in The Sheet on November 21st. Thank you again to the Bishop Area Climbers Coalition for inviting us to take part in their creative and fun clean up event.
Effacing Vehicle Tracks in Death Valley National Park The varied desert environments of Death Valley are among the harshest on earth. Every climatological feature or event happens in extreme fashion. As such, every landscape, formed over millennia by these weathering forces, is delicate. when something disrupts it, it is unlikely that balance will naturally be restored for many moons. So when a vehicle drives off a designated road or route (a big no-no in the National Park), it leaves a scar that is going to be there a while and serves as an implicit invitation to others to join in…