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Hello,

The temperatures are cooling and the leaves are changing color. Fall is always a beautiful season in the Eastern Sierra. We want to continue celebrating its beauty through our virtual event, the Alpenglow Celebration, featuring photography by our special guest, photographer, John Dittli. All proceeds will help fund our Trail Ambassador program.

You will also have the opportunity to read a letter by Senator Dianne Feinstein opposing gold mining exploration on Conglomerate Mesa. We are also glad to share voting resources to encourage you to vote in next month's election. There are many resources to be found in the Election Center. And finally, you can get a FREE coloring booklet made by FOI Trail Ambassador Julia Tawney for your little ones at any of the six Mono County Library locations. We hope you enjoy this month's issue of the Juniper and have a great month.

Sincerely,

Kyle Hamada
Communications Director

Alpenglow Celebration with John Dittli Photography

Friday, October 16th, 2020 from 6:30pm to 8pm

Join us for an exclusive evening with photographer John Dittli

Enjoy an evening exploring the Eastern Sierra through the lens of John Dittli. Friends of the Inyo’s Alpenglow Celebration includes an exclusive showing of his photographs and the stories behind them.

John Dittli's photos of the Eastern Sierra and other spectacular landscapes have been instrumental to conservation efforts all the way up to Capitol Hill. Copies have been distributed to Senators and U.S. Representatives to convey the power of wilderness over thousands of miles.

John rarely makes himself available publicly, so we are honored that he chose to be our featured guest for our first virtual Alpenglow Celebration.

100% of the proceeds from this event’s ticket sales and donations will directly support our Trail Ambassador program. Our Trail Ambassadors work tirelessly to protect our Eastern Sierra landscapes. They teach Leave No Trace principles to thousands of visitors each year, keep trails and popular recreation spots free of brush, logs, and rocks, and pick up hundreds of pounds of trash.

Purchase Tickets

Senator Feinstein’s Message of Support for Conglomerate Mesa

Senator Feinstein sends a powerful message to the BLM in opposition to gold mining at Conglomerate Mesa. We are so grateful to have the Senator’s leadership in the effort to protect Conglomerate Mesa. This is another strong action in a longtime legacy of California Desert conservation. Thank you, Senator Feinstein!

“Conglomerate Mesa is an extraordinary place in the California Desert that is important to local Native American Tribes and outdoor recreationists and provides habitat for unique plant and animal species like the iconic Joshua Tree. As the agency charged with balancing competing needs of public lands while ensuring natural, cultural, and historic resources are maintained for present and future use, the Bureau of Land Management must carefully examine any direct or cumulative impacts of K2’s proposed expansion.”

Read Senator Feinstein’s full press release here.

Resources on National Forest Closures

Due to the heightened threats of dangerous wildfires this year, all National Forests in California were temporarily closed and have now begun to reopen. Be sure to check the latest information as you plan your next trip to the Inyo or Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. Here are the best up-to-date resources to follow listed below:

Inyo National Forest

USDA Website
Facebook
Twitter

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

USDA Website
Facebook
Twitter

Air Quality/Smoke Forecast

airnow.gov (air quiality)
tools.airfire.org (smoke forecast)

Turn your LOVE for America’s public lands into ACTION. Join the national movement of people who are voting or mobilizing others to vote to protect the public lands that make our country special and our lives more meaningful.

Visit the Conservation Lands Foundation Election Center for more resources.

Visit the Election Center

Know Your Voting Rights

Check out this handy guide from vote.org on how to ensure your right to vote is protected this November.

Learn More

Every Native Vote Counts

Check out Native Vote—an initiative of the National Congress of American Indians to encourage active voter participation across Indian Country and protect the voting rights of Native people.

Learn More

What's on Your Ballot

Check out Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup to learn more about what will be on your ballot this November.

Learn More

Friends of the Inyo Board Member Publishes Book

A Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California, Santa Barbara, Jeff's knowledge and expertise is invaluable to our work. We are proud to share that he recently published a book:

Lakes and Watersheds in the Sierra Nevada of California
Responses to Environmental Change

by Jeff Dozier, John M. Melack, Steven Sadro, James O. Sickman

The Sierra Nevada, California’s iconic mountain range, harbors thousands of remote high-elevations lakes from which water flows to sustain agriculture and cities. As climate and air quality in the region change, so do the watershed processes upon which these lakes depend. In order to understand the future of California’s ecology and natural resources, we need an integrated account of the environmental processes that underlie these aquatic systems.

Synthesizing over three decades of research on the lakes and watersheds of the Sierra Nevada, this book develops an integrated account of the hydrological and biogeochemical systems that sustain them. With a focus on Emerald Lake in Sequoia National Park, the book marshals long-term limnological and ecological data to provide a detailed and synthetic account, while also highlighting the vulnerability of Sierra lakes to changes in climate and atmospheric deposition. In so doing, it lays the scientific foundations for predicting and understanding how the lakes and watersheds will respond.

Learn More

Doris the Water Molecule, FREE coloring book!

In partnership between Friends of the Inyo, Mono County Libraries Makerspace, and the River Network, Trail Ambassador Julia Tawney has created a "do-it-yourself" coloring storybook exploring the Owens River Headwaters. In response to the pandemic, Mono County Libraries Makerspace is offering free maker kits "to-go" at its 6 branches, with take-home art activities for all ages to learn new skills and engage with the natural world.

This limited edition coloring storybook kit will be available for pick-up the week of October 12th at any Mono County Library branch. The kit is made for ages three to six with adult supervision. For more info on this project email julia@friendsoftheinyo.org.

Click below for more info on the Mono County Libraries Makerspace.

Learn More

Reminder: New Office Location

I'd like to remind you that we have moved from our previous location on Barlow Lane to a new downtown office on West Line Street. Please also take a moment to update our address in your contact records so that all donations and correspondence will go to the right address.