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Dear Friend,

What do protection of the Sierra Nevada Red Fox; the removal of cattle exclosures in the Cottonwood Creek Wilderness; efforts to protect Conglomerate Mesa and Long Valley from exploratory drilling; an attempt to educate Inyo and Mono Counties' Spanish-speaking residents about public lands management in the U.S.; FREE interpretive hikes (the ones still allowed following the US Forest Service's California National Forest temporary closure order); and volunteer cleanup and restoration events in Bridgeport and the Alabama Hills on back-to-back Saturdays in September, including National Public Lands Day, Sept. 25, have in common? They are all efforts that align with Friends of the Inyo's mission to protect and care for the public lands of the Eastern Sierra, and you can read about them—and more!—in this issue of our Juniper E-Newsletter. Have fun scrolling. 

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

Sincerely,

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

 

ALL OUR EVENTS ARE FREE!

Interpretive Hikes

Sign up for an interpretive hike in a unique part of the
Eastern Sierra with Friends of the Inyo’s Trail Ambassadors! 

CANCELED EVENTS

The following two events have been canceled due to a temporary closure of California National Forests from midnight August 31 through midnight September 17, per a US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region directive designed to provide public and firefighter safety due to the ongoing California wildfire crisis:

Friday, Sept. 3, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.:
Geology and Volcanology Interpretive Hike in Mammoth with TA Tess Irving-Ruffing.

Saturday, Sept. 11, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.:
Mammals of the Eastern Sierra at North Lake Interpretive Hike in the Bishop area with TA 

___________________________________________________________________

EVENTS STILL ON OUR CALENDAR
(And please understand that these could change following USFS additional fire safety directives)

The following events remain on our calendar either because they fall outside of the temporary closure period or take place in a part of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest that is not affected by the USFS order:

Friday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. till Noon:
Beavers and Meadows in the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Hike in Bridgeport with TA Lily Emerson. Click here for details, required RSVP, and waiver. Space is limited. 
Friday, Sept. 24, from 9 to 10:30 a.m.:
Jeffrey Pine Trees Interpretive Hike in Lone Pine with TA Kayla Browne.
Click here for details, required RSVP, and waiver. Space is limited.

Volunteering/Stewardship Events

Volunteer in Mono County and Inyo County public lands
Two Saturdays in a row in mid-late September!

These are both great opportunities to give back by volunteering. You can reap the instant karmic rewards of getting to spend time with other like-minded land stewards while you enjoy light physical work in the fresh air for your health and the health of our public lands. And you might even win a drawing! Click on the respective event link to sign up, which is required, what to bring information, etc.

And...Thank you ahead of time for your commitment and support!
We could not care for our public lands without you!

Later This Fall

The Bodie Hills Conservation Partnership and Friends of the Inyo will lead a fall colors tour in the northern portion of the Bodie Hills on Oct 9. The outing will be primarily a driving tour with several stops with walking options to various aspen groves. Photography is encouraged and the trip leader will be pointing out birds and other wildlife along the way. RSVP in advance is required. Click on the link below for details and to sign up.

Fall Colors of the Bodie Hills, 10/9/2021, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(Also be sure to scroll down to our Collaborative Efforts section below to learn how you can sign up to receive the Bodie Hills Conservation Partnership's Quarterly Newsletter to stay up to date with news about these precious hills right in our backyard.)

Photo by John Dittli

Advocacy 

THANK YOU!
To everyone who submitted their public comments by the August 30 deadline as part of our campaign to #ProtectConglomerateMesa
from foreign drilling!
NOW WE WAIT.

 

Get Involved in Protecting Long Valley
from Exploratory Drilling

Are you concerned about the potential exploratory drilling project at Hot Creek in Long Valley? The Sierra Club's Range of Light Group (ROLG, Toiyabe Chapter), in a coalition of local environmental groups opposing the project, is inviting concerned community members to join them from 9 a.m. till Noon on Saturday, Sept. 18, to see first hand the beautiful and vulnerable lands and wildlife needing protection. Attendance is limited to 10 cars/20 people. Registration is required. Click here to sign up and to get more information, including planned route and anticipated road conditions. 

Outreach in Spanish 

Friends of the Inyo Communications Director Louis Medina's monthly column in El Sol de la Sierra, Inyo and Mono Counties' only Spanish-language weekly publication, now has a name: "Amigos de Nuestras Tierras" ("Friends of Our Lands" in English). It publishes on the first Thursday of the month (Sept. 2 this month) and the September column aims to educate the Spanish-speaking community about the various agencies that manage public lands in the U.S. and California, including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and California Department of Parks and Recreation. There are examples of public lands managed by all of these agencies in Inyo and Mono. While a visit to them usually requires paying a fee, we explain, Friends of the Inyo offers numerous interpretive hikes on public lands, as well as public land cleanup and restoration volunteering events that are free to attend, including our National Public Lands Day in the Alabama Hills on Sept. 25, in partnership with several agencies and conservation groups. That information will likely be a first to many of El Sol de la Sierra's readers, and we are grateful for this new outreach and education partnership. Please pass this information along to your Spanish-speaking friends, family members and coworkers.

The monthlong period from Mid-September through mid-October is observed as National Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S. Be sure to visit our social media channels then (Facebook and Instagram @FriendsoftheInyo, and Twitter @FriendsofInyo) to see a series of fun posts about Spanish-language nature and conservation terms that have made their way into the English language. It'll be fun! 

Do you have ideas for Spanish-language outreach about public lands in the Eastern Sierra? Do you live in Mono or Inyo County and would you be interested in learning more about Friends of the Inyo's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts? Send Louis an e-mail at Louis@friendsoftheInyo.org.  

Photo by Kyle Hamada. 

Trail Ambassadors

In the bottom left photo, Volunteer Backcountry Wilderness Week Team Members pose proudly with the Wild and Scenic River sign they put up at Cottonwood Creek. L-R: Foreground: USFS Wilderness Ranger Amy Wicks, Volunteer Tiffany McCall; Back: Volunteer Ken Miller (kneeling), USFS Ranger Aaron Hutton, Volunteer Peter Schulz, FOI Lead Trail Ambassador Lindsay Butcher, and Volunteer Ian Bell.

Our 'Magnificent Seven' Really Gave Back Big Time During Volunteer Backcountry Stewardship Week (Aug. 6-9) at Cottonwood Creek

"Flowing southeast from White Mountain Peak, Cottonwood Creek is fed by numerous springs that pop up all the way into the Great Basin Desert. In 2009, as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act signed by President Barack Obama, Cottonwood Creek was designated as a protected Wild and Scenic River (WSR). Today, the creek’s comprehensive management plan is still under development; however, its WSR designation meant no more cattle grazing in the area...." 

Read the full story of these stewardship heroes' adventure, written by Lead Trail Ambassador Lindsay Butcher, on our blog. 

Wildlife Protection

A Win for the Sierra Nevada Red Fox

By Jora Fogg, Friends of the Inyo Policy Director

Sometime soon, national park access and smoke conditions permitting, I will head on a multi-day excursion into the High Sierra backcountry to an area where the elusive and rare Sierra Nevada Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) has been sighted. I’m especially excited because on September 3rd the Sierra Nevada Red Fox will receive protection under the Federal Endangered Species Act.

In 2018 the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a Species Status Assessment (SSA) Report for the Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment. The SSA team represented USFWS biologists, in consultation with other species experts for academia and the State of California. The SSA report represents a compilation of the best data available concerning the status of the species, including the impacts of past, present, and future factors affecting it.

During a public comment period for the listing consideration, the USFWS sought the expert opinions of five specialists regarding the SSA Report. Responses helped inform the determination to list the species. The USFWS also considered all comments and information received from the public. Friends of the Inyo’s February 2020 comments on the proposed listing can be viewed here.

Based on new data received during public comment, the population is estimated to be approximately 18 to 39 individuals, of which 10 to 31 are north of Yosemite, about five are in or just east of Yosemite, and three have been identified south of Yosemite in the general area of Mono Creek. Population density north of Yosemite is estimated at approximately four foxes per 100 square kilometers (about 1 fox per 10 square miles), indicating the fox’s extreme rarity and susceptibility to extinction.

A multi-agency conservation strategy for the Sierra Nevada Red Fox is in development, spearheaded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This strategy will guide and prioritize recovery actions, such as translocations and possibly reintroduction.

I probably won’t get to glimpse a fox on my upcoming adventure, but maybe I will be able to collect some scat to help with genetic sampling; and even if my trip does not yield any fox findings, I will be content to know the Endangered Species Act is now on their side.

You can learn more about ongoing fox research here.

This story is also available as a blogpost on our website. Click here to access and share with others. 

Collaborative Efforts

Find news and updates from the latest issue of the Bodie Hills Newsletter here.

Use the button below to subscribe to the Bodie Hills Conservation Partnership Newsletter so you can stay up to date with all news and developments. 

 

- Get the Latest News on the
L.A./Eastern Sierra Water Wars -

Check out the last two (Mid-August and Late August 2021) Issues of Every Last Drop, The Keep Long Valley Green Coalition Newsletter

Every Last Drop: Exposés on the L.A./Eastern Sierra Water Wars offers readers thoughtful pieces by Eastern Sierra Author and Every Last Drop Writer/Editor Jamie Della. Our aim is that by highlighting relevant news, research and personal interviews, Every Last Drop will strive to bring to the surface accountability and solutions that ultimately will drive the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to deliver water to the people of Los Angeles at a reasonable price while preserving the ecosystems of the Eastern Sierra for truly fair and sustainable water sharing. Readers are welcome to contact us with stories of their personal experiences with the LADWP over the years. To submit a story or story idea(s), please write to info@keeplongvalleygreen.org.

 

Click here to subscribe - It's FREE! 

Two issues of Every Last Drop will publish each month.

 
 
 

Because Our Work of Protecting and Caring for the Public Lands of the Eastern Sierra Never Stops!

In between the monthly issues of the Juniper, we keep our readers updated in real time with time-sensitive blog posts at the bottom of the friendsoftheinyo.org home page, as well as our Stewardship and Policy pages. As the graphic suggests, all you have to do is scroll down to find the latest "news gems" at the bottom of those pages!

We invite you to visit our blog often between now and the next issue of the Juniper to never miss a beat on our and our partners' important work to protect and care for the public lands of the Eastern Sierra. 

 

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

Thank you for your generous support.

 
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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