• Friday Feb 18, 4-6 pm sign painting party for the No Hot Creek Mine rally . Contact Chris for details. 
• Sunday Feb 20 - No Hot Creek Mine Rally
  •  3pm along Minaret Road in front of Kitchen53 - Join us!
  •  4pm at the Village in Mammoth Lakes 

Range of Light Group Board Meeting
Wednesday Feb 23 at 4pm. Email us for the zoom link. Open to all Sierra Club members. We sure could use someone to do the minutes!

Sierra Club California general members meeting
Saturday Feb 26 9:30-3:30 via zoom. For more information click here, to register click here.

KORE Mining did not arrive before the series of snow storms hit in mid-December. The roads to the drilling sites are not plowed in winter. KORE Mining won't be able to get in until the snow melts. 

One of the terms of the approval is that KORE Mining cannot drill during the lekking season from March 1 to June 30. So if there is snow blocking the Whitmore Tubs Road and the Antelope Springs Road through February, then drilling will be held up until the summer. 

It is a global movement seeking to conserve 30 percent of lands and coastal waters by the year 2030—or “30 by 30”.

And Why?

Biologists tell us we’re in a global crisis for biodiversity, as countless species of animals and plants could be extinct in 50 to 100 years—unless we drastically change our sprawling land use and protect far more wild habitat; probably at least “Half Earth” is needed as places where nature can dominate.  Aiming for 30 percent over the next decade is seen as an achievable “stepping stone” toward an eventual 50 percent—called “Nature Needs Half”. The Sierra Club has joined the global Nature Needs Half initiative. Find out what ROLG is doing...

And please sign Sierra Club California's petition and ask for a plan that has concrete commitments to stop ongoing harms to land and waters, specific action plans for achieving our goals, and the funding needed to make 30x30 a reality!

The Owens Valley Groundwater Authority (OVGA) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) was submitted to the Department of Water Resources Feb. 7, 2022. Before the GSP even arrived at the DWR, Mono County pulled out of the OVGA. As of July, the OVGA will no longer have authority over the Tri-Valley sub-basin. Mono County is considering forming its own groundwater sustainability authority for the Long Valley groundwater basin and parts of the Owens groundwater basin in Mono County while the Tri-Valley Water Management District will manage the Tri-Valley sub-basin of the Owens groundwater basin that includes Fish Slough.

The fate of a national treasure and several endangered species are in the hands of a small water district. You would think that the new California groundwater management law, SGMA, would save it, but it won't. Only the ranchers, farmers, and residents in the Tri-Valley water district can save Fish Slough.
Read on.

New editions of Every Last Drop are out. Have you been keeping up? This is a great way to find out about LADWP's impact on the Owens Valley!

The Inyo National Forest is updating its over-snow-vehicle (OSV) regulations. Your input will influence the  roads, trails, and areas where snowmobiles will be permitted. Non-designated areas and routes will closed to OSVs. Let the Forest Service know how and where you recreate on Forest Service land during winter including non-motorized recreation e.g., walking, fat biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc. Submit comments on what's working well, what conflicts you've run into, and what changes you'd like to see. You can also share your ideas and concerns with the new Mammoth District Ranger in person at "Coffee with the District Ranger" event: Feb 26 10-11:30 am at Bald Mountain Road/Deadman Summit staging area. 

Do cows have to be everywhere? The Forest Service thinks so.

In 2018, the Bridgeport office of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest announced they were considering reopening three sheep grazing allotments to allow cattle grazing. They had been grazed by sheep for decades, but were closed in 2004 and 2006 in order to protect the endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep.  The lessee then asked the Forest Service to allow them to bring cattle onto the allotments instead of sheep. Switching from sheep to cattle will have different impacts on the land and require different management approaches, which prompted this project. Read on...