Hello,

Winter may have arrived with a strong start but it's been feeling like Spring is already here. And with the change in seasons, we at Friends of the Inyo have made a big change of our own–we moved to a new office location! Read more about our move below. 

In this Juniper, you will find updates on the Keep Long Valley Campaign, Panamint Valley lithium mining exploration, and Conglomerate Mesa gold mining exploration. You will also find several opportunities to attend events in March and April. Come explore the snow-covered Bodie Hills, gaze up at the dark desert sky with telescopes, explore Owens Lake and the thousands of migratory birds, or volunteer surveying plants in the remote parts of Eureka Dunes in Death Valley National Park! 

Sincerely,

Kyle Hamada
Communications Director

 

Bodie Hills Winter Outing

Saturday March 14, 2019 from 9am-3pm

Explore the beautiful snow-covered Bodie Hills with us! Depending on how much snow there is, we may either ski and snowshoe in or hike in. Either way, this outing will be a pleasant day of easy trekking and having fun in the Bodie Hills. 

Where: Meet at the Virginia Creek Settlement in Bridgeport at 9am
What to Bring: Water, lunch, snacks, camera, and skis or snowshoes. If you don't have any, we will have snowshoes for you to borrow. Dress in warm clothing. We will provide details on conditions on March 12th. Please let us know if you need guidance on gear or what to bring.

RSVP to wendy@friendsoftheinyo.org with the number in your party and any questions you may have

 

New Friends of the Inyo Office Location!

We are excited to announce that we have moved from our previous location on Barlow Lane to a new downtown office on West Line Street. This new office is a better fit for our teams' needs with more space and room for storage, and at a more central location in town. If you're passing by, feel free to visit, say hello, and grab a sticker on your way out!

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. Thank you.

Friends of the Inyo
621 W. Line St., Suite 201
Bishop, CA 93514

 
 

Keep Long Valley Green Update

 

The diverse coalition that comprises the Keep Long Valley Green campaign is keeping up pressure on LADWP to provide water to southern Mono County to maintain the ecosystem that has developed over the last 80 years. To maintain conditions necessary for successful ranching, recreational opportunities, and sage grouse habitat, LADWP must commit to allow irrigation to commence beginning April 1st. The KLVG campaign continues to put pressure on the agency to meet this deadline. While confidential settlement talks are still active regarding the lawsuit brought by Mono County and the Sierra Club, as the April 1st deadline approaches the agency's intentions are not at all clear. The lack of precipitation is heightening fears that DWP might delay the beginning of irrigation, allow inadequate amounts of water to flow, or disallow irrigation altogether as it threatened to do in 2018.  

 

Conglomerate Mesa Update

The threat at Conglomerate Mesa continues on. K2 Gold, an exploration company based in Vancouver Canada, has shown continued interest in exploring Conglomerate Mesa's gold prospects. Read about what this could mean for the future of Conglomerate Mesa and what you can do to help us protect it in Bryan's blog post.

 

Panamint Valley Update

Exploratory drilling in Panamint Valley has begun. Through monitoring trips conducted by Friends of the Inyo staff and members, we learned that Battery Minerals Inc. (BMI) has concluded exploration at two of the four sites and will likely finish the following two sites soon. Friends of the Inyo and volunteers are continuing to monitor the exploration sites to assure compliance with environmental protection requirements.

If you plan to visit Panamint Valley in the coming weeks, please consider stopping by the drills sites, filling out a monitoring form and sending it to bryan@friendsoftheinyo.org

 

Owens Lake Bird Festival

Registration for the 2020 Owens Lake Bird Festival
is open!

The 2020 Owens Lake Bird Festival will be held on April 24th -26th. Registration is now open to everyone. With 30+ outings at the Owens Lake Bird Festival there is something for everyone. Be sure to act fast as outings continue to fill up. Click the button below to Register, explore the outings schedule, and more.

 

Dark Desert Skies Series

Friends of the Inyo is excited to announce our Dark Desert Skies series of events this spring.

Join us as we view the night skies, whether through the lens of a telescope or kicked back in a camping chair. Astronomers with telescopes will provide information about constellations and astral bodies. Camping is available, so no need to worry about the trek home if you’d like to stay late. Friends of the Inyo will provide drinks and snacks and recommends that you bring your own dinner. We will meet a bit before sundown to get set up and as the sky darkens the show will begin.

Little Cactus Flat - Saturday, March 28th
Alabama Hills - Saturday, April 18th
Conglomerate Mesa - Saturday, May 23rd

*More specific meeting locations will be released upon RSVP.

We look forward to having you with us. We will cap each event at 15 people, so please RSVP quickly to bryan@friendsoftheinyo.org.

 

Eureka Dunes Volunteer Opportunity

Photo courtesy of Death Valley National Park.

Death Valley National Park is looking for volunteers to help the Park perform plant surveys at the Eureka Dunes. You can expect a Monday to Thursday work week of approximately ten-hour work days. The work parties will be camping at the dunes, will be led by a NPS representative, and can expect strenuous hiking in steep sand for up to ten miles per day. Parties will search for two species of rare plants among the tallest sand dunes in California.

The current work weeks are:

March 23rd - 26th
March 30 - April 1
April 6th - 9th
April 13th - 16th
April 20th - 23rd
April 27th - 30th

Group sizes are limited to four individuals, so contact alex@friendsoftheinyo.org today to sign up, or with any questions you might have.

 
 
 

Friends of the Inyo appreciates the following organizations and local businesses for their generous sponsorship of our programs:

 
 
 
 

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