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Dear Friend,

Well, my adventures in settling in to life in the Eastern Sierra continue, with some positive and some negative experiences.

Since the last issue of The Juniper, I have gotten an Inyo County library card, received my proof of voter registration postcard in the mail, and accompanied my coworkers Kayla Browne and Lindsay Butcher (L-R behind me in the photo) on my first snow survey outing in Rock Creek on President's Day weekend. All positives.

An unexpected negative was something we encountered on that same outing: poop - dog poop bagged up neatly but left behind on the snow. And we also found another bag (not pictured) that was tied to a tree branch!

While I can applaud the efforts of anyone who bags their dog's poop, this experience reminded me that there is still much work to do to educate people who recreate in nature about the Third Principle of Leave No Trace: "Dispose of Waste Properly." And the six other principles, for that matter. Help me and Friends of the Inyo by taking the message of respect for the outdoors to all those you know. But let's do it, as the saying goes, with honey, rather than vinegar, so we can get them to come to our side. 

That said, let's focus again on the positive things we have to report in the March issue of The Juniper:

  • Events galore, both virtual and in person now that the world is opening up more and more - and most of them are FREE;
  • Lots of mentions of FOI and our initiatives in the news;
  • Hopeful developments (really!) in local public lands protection and advocacy.

Start scrolling!  

 
 

Happy reading—and if you like what you read, happy sharing! 

Sincerely,

Louis (Lou) Medina
Communications and Philanthropy Director
Louis@friendsoftheinyo.org

Upcoming Events

(In Chronological Order)

Join us on "World Water Day," Tuesday, March 22, at 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., for the FREE virtual premiere of the Keep Long Valley Green Coalition's (keeplongvalleygreen.org) short film Without Water.

The  screening of the 20-minute film will be followed by a Q&A with members of the KLVG Coalition, of which Friends of the Inyo is a leading member.

Without Water documents the ongoing dispute between the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and various stakeholders in Long Valley, California.

Questions? Write to info@keeplongvalleygreen.org. 

 

Conglomerate Mesa Mineral Exploration Report - FREE Virtual Presentation and Q&A - Thursday, March 24, 7 - 8:30 PM

Join Friends of the Inyo and the Conglomerate Mesa Coalition for a virtual (Zoom) evening presentation by Pete Dronkers, author of Conglomerate Mesa Mineral Exploration: Potential Future Mining Scenarios and Impacts. This report is an in-depth analysis of what a large-scale mining operation would look like at Conglomerate Mesa. The report has been peer-reviewed and examines the geology of the region to better characterize the size and scope of a future mine, as well as its potential long-term environmental liabilities, by comparing its geology to similar existing mines in Nevada. A pdf copy of the report will be sent to all who RSVP so they have a chance to review it about a week in advance of the presentation.

 

Sunday, March 27, 8:30 a.m. - Noon
Flash Foxy Climbing Festival Stewardship Day

Meet at the parking lot of Mountain Rambler Brewery on Main Street in Downtown Bishop.
All ages welcome!

 

Join us for Friends of the Inyo's Owens Lake Bird Festival!

Back by popular demand following a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Friends of the Inyo’s Owens Lake Bird Festival returns as a one-day live event April 23, in a scaled-down way to:

  • Ensure attendees’ safety, while we
  • Showcase the birds of Owens Lake and its surroundings, and
  • Raise awareness about the work of Friends of the Inyo, especially in Southern Inyo County.

Tickets are selling fast, so don't delay in signing up if you are planning to attend! 

 

On this Friday through Sunday FREE Event, you will see films on Friday night, May 20, in Lone Pine, then have a chance to survey the skies and bask under the moon and stars with neighbors and friends on the foothills of Conglomerate Mesa on Saturday, May 21, and continue exploring the desert at Centennial Flat on Sunday, May 22. The outing will be led by Friends of the Inyo's Executive Director Wendy Schneider and Desert Lands Organizer Kayla Browne. Space is limited. 

Public Lands Protection 

The community showed up #MonoStrong for the peaceful protest that took place Presidents' Day Weekend Sunday, February 20, in and around The Village at Mammoth against Canadian company KORE Mining, Ltd.'s proposed exploratory drilling for gold in Long Valley, in an area dangerously close to Hot Creek. Protest organizers invited Friends of the Inyo to be present at an information table, and three of our staff were glad to share the #NoHotCreekMine message one on one with community members. The "No Hot Creek Mine" grassroots movement is gaining momentum and has a new website, which you can access by clicking on the button below, to stay up to date on other resistance activities related to Long Valley mining.

 
 

Our battle to #ProtectConglomerateMesa from destructive mining has garnered much attention in the news lately, thanks to two journalistic efforts that happened during the same week:

  1. Los Angeles Times Writer Louis Sahagun wrote a piece focusing on the efforts of botanist Maria Jesus to preserve the Inyo rock daisy, a plant endemic to Conglomerate Mesa which she would like to see listed as a threatened or endangered species. The article, which was published Sunday, Feb. 27, can be read here
  2. Just three days later, on Wednesday, March 2, Public News Service published a story on Conglomerate Mesa titled "Groups Fight Proposed Mining Exploration Near Death Valley," as part of a new partnership with Friends of the Inyo. Thanks to this new partnership, stories on the public lands protection and advocacy work of Friends of the Inyo and our partners will be disseminated widely to news outlets throughout California and beyond. Read or listen to the PNS story here. (About Public News Service: Since 1996, PNS has pioneered a model of member-supported journalism to engage, educate and advocate for the public interest. As a national network of 37 state-based news services, NPS’s  journalists are on the ground in communities throughout the country, seeking out stories on critical issues that receive too little attention and helping to lift up marginalized voices that too often go unheard.)

To stay up to date on all things related to the protection of Conglomerate Mesa, visit:

Photo below by Patrick Donnelly is of an Inyo rock daisy being pollinated.

 

Hope for Temporary AND PERMANENT Protection for a Portion of the Bodie Hills

There is good news on the ongoing effort to protect the Bodie Hills from perennial mining threats and to elevate the priorities of the native community in Bridgeport. 

On February 25th the California State Lands Commission voted to authorize a temporary three-year moratorium on accepting and considering mineral prospecting permits and lease applications on 480 acres (known as Section 16) of state school lands in the Bodie Hills. 

But the whole story is much more nuanced, and could also include a way to ensure PERMANENT protection for this area of the Bodies. Get the whole scoop from FOI Policy Director Jora Fogg. 

Map courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey. Photo of Dry Lakes Plateau in the Bodie Hills by Bob Wick, BLM. 

Keep Long Valley Green

Find news and updates from the latest issue as well as all past issues of Every Last Drop, the official newsletter of the Keep Long Valley Green Coalition, here.

Use the button below to subscribe to the newsletter so you can stay up to date with all coalition news and developments. 

FOI En Español

We offer an English/Spanish "bilingual treat" this month with our monthly column, Amigos de Nuestras Tierras (Friends of Our Lands), thanks to the support of our friend, Noe Gadea, the publisher of local weeklies El Sol de la Sierra and The Sierra Reader.

Usually our column publishes only in Spanish in El Sol on the first Thursday of the month; however, this time, Noe saw value in featuring our column in English in The Reader as well. This month's column is about the Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center in Bishop, its permanent displays and grounds, and the Great Basin Native Artists Exhibit that just opened Friday, Feb. 25.

The story appears on the front page of of the March 3-9 issue of El Sol, and on page 9 of the March 3-9 issue of The Reader. The printed edition of both publications is available for FREE in businesses and other establishments throughout Inyo and Mono counties.  

 

Want to support Friends of the Inyo? Consider making a donation online today!

Thank you for your generous support.

Other Ways to Give

Look for our ad about Friends of the Inyo's Legacy Giving Program, as well as our and our partners' work to preserve the rivers, streams and creeks of the Eastern Sierra and the fish that call them home, in the upcoming 2022 issue of the Eastern Sierra Fishing Guide, which is scheduled to be distributed free throughout the Eastern Sierra before the end of the month. 

To learn more about Legacy Giving, which costs you nothing during your lifetime yet allows you to be more generous than you ever thought possible, visit our Legacy Giving Program's Frequently Asked Questions Page.  

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

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