| | | |  | Keep Long Valley Green Campaign Manager Matt McClain snapped this shot of KLVG's float that graced the Mammoth Lakes Independence Day Parade this year. Matt's wife, Heather Johnston, is on the right; her friend, Joy Thomas, is on the left. | | | | Our Water Needs to Remain in the Eastern Sierra! I grew up in Los Angeles and had no clue where a lot of its water came from. Most Angelenos probably still don't. Now that I have been living in the Eastern Sierra for the better part of a year, I can see what water extraction from one side of a mountain range to a sprawling metropolis hundreds of miles away on the other side can do to a region. Over the course of a century of water extraction by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Eastern Sierra residents' livelihoods and opportunities have been stunted. Lakes, streams and meadows have dried up. Wildlife has become threatened. Weather patterns have changed. And still the threat of even more water extraction continues. As we shared earlier this month on our blog and social media, a State of California Court of Appeal upheld the LADWP's authority to withhold irrigation from Long Valley and Little Round Valley in Southern Mono County. The ruling was handed down just before Independence Day Weekend. You can read the article by Friends of the Inyo media partner Public News Service here. Humor helps in dealing with this bad news, as seen in the photo above of the poignant, brilliant 4th of July float from the Keep Long Valley Green Coalition, of which Friends of the Inyo is a leading member. Action helps, too. Just days before the court's ruling, we sent out our June 2022 Funding Appeal from Friends of the Inyo's Executive Director Wendy Schneider. It featured the serious images below and a plea for your monetary support to help fund our water justice work. That appeal has become even more important with this new development. We are grateful for the many donations that have come in so far, and request that those who are considering helping us in the fight to keep local water in the Eastern Sierra donate today, as the struggle is real and urgent. Thank you. | | | | | | | | | | In these EcoFlight photos taken last October, Friends of the Inyo Executive Director Wendy Schneider worries about what 100 years of water extraction has done to the Long Valley landscape she sees below. | | Also in this issue of The Juniper: - Read Stewardship Director Alex Ertaud's June Stewardship Roundup, so you can meet our Trail Ambassadors and find out what they have been up to in the five Ranger Districts they serve in both the Inyo and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests; AND find out about our FREE interpretive hikes and other events, offered weekly throughout the summer into early October!
- Sign up to join Desert Lands Organizer Kayla Browne and Policy Director Jora Fogg on two overnight outings to see the Inyo Rock Daisy in bloom at Conglomerate Mesa this month.
- Find out about FOI's first ever Latino Conservation Week event, to be held in Bishop City Park July 23, with media sponsorship support from El Sol de la Sierra and The Sierra Reader newspapers.
- Learn about the first ever Great Basin Water Justice Summit in early August. The general public will be able to virtually join Water Protectors, including our Executive Director, on August 3.
| | | | Happy reading—and if you like what you read, happy sharing! Sincerely, Louis (Lou) Medina
Communications and Philanthropy Director
Louis@friendsoftheinyo.org PLEASE NOTE: As Friends of the Inyo's work grows, so does our Juniper Newsletter. It is possible that as you are scrolling, you will come across a message at the bottom that says [Message clipped] and/or the hyperlink "View Entire Message." Be sure to click on the hyperlink to keep reading, as more news will be displayed once you click on the link. This is done to prevent bandwidth issues in e-mail delivery. Thank you. | | | | | | | | Tune in Friday, July 29, at 9:15 a.m. to KMMT FM's Arts, Culture & Entertainment (ACE) Show to listen to Friends of the Inyo's Executive Director Wendy Schneider talk to Show Host John De Maria about the upcoming Great Basin Water Justice Summit, and what Water Protectors and the public can do to help our water crisis in the Great Basin, including the Eastern Sierra. Refer to KMMT's logo for radio frequencies and web address, should you wish to listen to the show online. | | | | | | Yes, you are seeing double - because there are Camping and Sunrise Hikes to see the endemic, rare and fragile Inyo Rock Daisy in bloom at Conglomerate Mesa on back-to-back weekends this month, starting THIS WEEKEND! Small groups only. RSVP is required. | | | | | | | |  | | | | | Our Summer Events Calendar at FriendsoftheInyo.org/events is FULL of options for everyone's outdoor learning/hiking/camping/volunteering fun! Take your pick from among: - Interpretive Hikes with this summer’s crew of Trail Ambassadors in four Ranger Districts throughout the Inyo National Forest (White Mountain, Mammoth, Mono Basin and Mt. Whitney Ranger Districts) and the Bridgeport Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest;
- Half-Day Volunteer Cleanup Events and, for heartier souls, Multi-Day Backcountry Stewardship Events;
- Nature-Based Yoga
- Desert campouts mentioned above;
- And more events to be added to our calendar as they come up.
Every week has (a) different offering(s) through early October, and Trail Ambassador Interpretive Hikes feature various topics and are offered several times each for scheduling convenience - so no one needs to miss out. Learn about Eastern Sierra history, geology, hydrology, biology, climatology and more! Most of our events have a limit of attendees to keep group sizes manageable and ensure a quality experience in nature while respecting habitat; therefore, early signup is encouraged. All Friends of the Inyo summer events are FREE, but registrants are required to fill out an electronic RSVP & Waiver Form for safety reasons. Attendees under 18 must have a parent or guardian fill out the form on their behalf. The same web page containing information on any event includes the RSVP/Waiver form for that event, and special instructions regarding recommended attire and supplies to bring, whether a 4WD vehicle is required, event lead contact information, etc. | | | | | | | | Latino Conservation Week is Better Bilingually With Friends...of the Inyo! | | | | | | | | Join Friends of the Inyo on Saturday, July 23, at 4:30 p.m. in Bishop City Park for our first ever Latino Conservation Week event, "Shepherds of Today" (in Spanish, "Pastores de Hoy"). Bring your beach chairs and blankets for sitting in the shady coolness of the park in front of the Main Street Gazebo, and listen to sheepherders past and present talk about their adventures and lessons in conservation and climate change. There is much they can teach us. To learn more about this FREE event, which is part of Latino Conservation Week observed nationwide from July 16 - 24 this year, and to download our official flyer in English and Spanish, please click on the button below. Please also check out our ads and stories about this event in the July 7, 14, and 21 issues of The Sierra Reader and El Sol de la Sierra, newspapers - our generous Media Sponsors. | | | | | | Tune in Friday, July 15, at 10 a.m. to KMMT FM's Arts, Culture & Entertainment (ACE) Show to listen to Friends of the Inyo's Communications & Philanthropy Director Lou Medina talk to Show Host John De Maria about our upcoming "Shepherds of Today" event and Latino Conservation Week. Refer to KMMT's logo for radio frequencies and web address, should you wish to listen to the show online. | | | | | | | | | |  | Want to support Friends of the Inyo? Consider making a donation online today! Thank you for your generous support. | | | | | | Friends of the Inyo recently received two dozen copies of renowned local photographer Claude Fiddler's breathtaking new book of 55 Heaven-on-Earth photographs, Inside the High Sierra. Here is a recent story about Fiddler and his work that appeared in The Sheet. This handsome coffee table book makes for a great gift for a loved one. There are various ways to purchase it, including online and at local book merchants in Bishop, Mammoth and Lee Vining. But if you want to swing by Friends of the Inyo's office at 621 W. Line Street, Suite 201, in Downtown Bishop, you can buy a copy for the $100 retail price and not have to worry about paying for tax and shipping, plus your purchase will turn into a contribution toward the fulfilment of our mission to protect and care for the public lands of the Eastern Sierra: the very public lands Fiddler photographs so masterfully. Just call ahead (760.873.6500) M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to let us know when you'll be stopping by. The book includes a card signed by the author, plus information on how to purchase individual prints. Thank you! | | | | | | | | Friends of the Inyo appreciates the following organizations and local businesses for their generous sponsorship of our programs: | | | | | | | |  | Inyo Mono Alpine County
Cattlemen’s Association | | | | | | | | Remember to update the address to our new location: Friends of the Inyo
621 W. Line St., Suite 201
Bishop, CA 93514 FriendsoftheInyo.org | | | | Like and follow us on social media: | | | | | | |
