Learn about some of the LADWP Mitigation Projects that were developed as part of the 1991 Environmental Impact Report. Hines Springs and Calvert Slough are two of them. One is a hidden surprise! Find out which one. Join us on MeetUp.
 

K2 Gold recently announced they will abandon their exploration activities at Conglomerate Mesa rather than prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that BLM told them they'd have to prepare. Most exploratory drilling projects are approved as categorical exclusions that skip the environmental review even though they do impact the environment, disturb cultural resources, and inadequately reclaim the land. It is about time they are required to document the impacts and involve the public.

 

The lake level reading on April 1 was below 6380 feet in elevation. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will be restricted to taking only 4,500 acre feet of water from the stream tributaries for the next 12 months per the 1994 State Water Resources Control Board decision to help save the lake. Mono lake gets the rest of the stream flow after LADWP takes its share, but it may be meager this year due to below average runoff. LADWP is usually allowed to take 16,000 acre feet. This will have a ripple effect throughout the Owens Valley. LADWP might end up pumping more groundwater. The annual pumping plan for the Owens Valley should be out soon. We shall see.
 

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 by May 19.

Tributes to Owen Maloy

Owen Maloy, PhD. 1932-2021, a generous man of great talent and many achievements is missed by his many friends. After a successful career as an aerospace physicist and moving to Mammoth, Owen was very active with the Sierra Club as an environmentalist, backcountry skier, and hiker, and working with Sierra Club entities including the local Range of Light Group, the Ski Mountaineers, Sierra Peaks and Desert Peaks Groups, Orange County Singles, By-Laws Committee, and Sierra Club California. He was one of the founders of the Range of Light Group and served one term as Chair. He helped the Sierra Club in California be more effective and organized, thus earning Sierra Club awards for his contributions.

About 20 years ago, the Town of Mammoth Lakes had a great ambition to expand its airport to bring in thousands of visitors by big commercial flights from global cities. This plan would have created an environmental disaster. Owen realized the Mammoth airport was not suitable for expansion to accommodate large aircraft and hundreds of thousands of visitors. He worked with Earthjustice in successful litigation against the FAA to stop Mammoth Yosemite Airport's damaging expansion.

Owen gave lodging and friendship to many friends and Sierra Club people who came to Mammoth to ski and hike. Before he lost his eyesight, he was generous in offering beginner skiers good advice on navigating the slopes when we were frozen with anxiety. I thank Owen for helping me become a better skier.

Owen is survived by his daughter Deirdre Saoirse Moen. 

Wilma Wheeler

 

---

I met Owen in June of 1995 climbing and skiing Mt. Dana after a heavy snow year. Little did I know until I met him, that the group of skiers were mostly members of the Ski Mountaineers Section of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club. This is the same section that my grandparents skied with in the 30's.

Owen was an outings leader/instructor for the Range of Light Sierra Club Group and Ski Mountaineers Section. He ascended more than 100 Sierra Peaks and earned an emblem from the Desert Peaks Section. He always said the car should get the emblem for driving to trailheads as the roads were anything but gentle. Owen turned me onto the Sierra Peaks List which is the best way to explore the Sierra if one has the desire and stamina.

His contributions to protecting Mother Earth were great and many. We can thank him, for example, for saving old growth trees near Heavenly Valley in South Lake Tahoe.

Owen earned a PhD in physics and helped build the spectrometer that measures the hole in the ozone layer. Humble Dr. Maloy was never addressed as such by his friends when I knew him. However, Cathleen McClory Leon, the lady who graciously took care of him in his last days, said Owen wanted to be called Dr. Maloy. He said, "ya know, people respect doctors." My friend and I noticed also, that Owen could still chat up the waitresses. In all fairness, Owen made great conversation with everyone easily.

He loved to talk about his daughter's cats and meowed to my kitties over the phone. He loved telling stories about hiking with his poodle in the Minarets and to the top of Mt. Morrison. Owen even told of momma mouse with little ones who stared him down.

So...Owen we will miss your stories, kindness, humor, wit and beautiful telemark turns.  Ski Heil!

Ruth Von Rotz

---

The Executive Committee of the Range of Light Group is grateful to all those who have served since its founding in 1992 and all those who have helped the Sierra Club protect the environment. We lost three very dedicated members recently: Owen Maloy (ROLG co-founder and hike leader), Mike Shore (ExCom member and hike leader), and Lynne Foster (publisher of the Toiyabe newsletter). They are missed.