Last updated: 12/12/2011
395 & 3rd Street
Lee Vining, CA 93541
P.O. Box 29
Lee Vining, CA 93541
Open year round, hours may vary
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Rosanne Catron
phone: 760-647-6595
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The Mono Lake Committee Information Center and Bookstore, located in the town of Lee Vining, is a great spot to stop and get your bearings regarding Mono Lake.
The friendly staff is always happy to answer questions, help visitors plan outings, and provide Chamber of Commerce information. It is the headquarters of the non-profit group working to obtain long-term protection and restoration of the Mono Lake ecosystem. General information on Mono Lake is available, as well as detailed displays on Mono Lake's political history and the current efforts of the Mono Lake Committee, and a brand new film about the Mono Lake story. The bookstore offers a comprehensive selection of books, T-shirts, maps, and gifts. Copier, fax, digital photo download, CD burning, and internet access are available for a fee. A wireless hotspot is available for members. For more information on the Mono Lake Committee's goals and objectives please visit our website at www.monolake.org.
The Mono Lake Committee is a non-profit citizens' group dedicated to protecting and restoring the Mono Basin ecosystem, educating the public about Mono Lake and the impacts on the environment of excessive water use, and promoting cooperative solutions that protect Mono Lake and meet real water needs without transferring environmental problems to other areas.
In 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began diverting Mono Lake's tributary streams 350 miles south to meet the growing water demands of Los Angeles. Deprived of its freshwater sources, the volume of Mono Lake halved, while its salinity doubled. Unable to adapt to these changing conditions within such a short period of time, the ecosystem began to collapse. Islands, previously important nesting sites, became peninsulas vulnerable to mammalian and reptilian predation. Photosynthetic rates of algae, the base of the food chain, were reduced while reproductive abilities of brine shrimp became impaired. Stream ecosystems unraveled due to lack of water. Air quality grew poor as the exposed lake bed became the source of air-borne particulate matter, violating the Clean Air Act. If something was not done, Mono Lake was certain to become a lifeless chemical sump. Appalled by this prospect, David Gaines formed the Mono Lake Committee in 1978 and began talking to conservation clubs, schools, service organizations, legislators, lawyers and to anyone who would listen about the value of this high desert lake. Under David Gaines' leadership, the Mono Lake Committee grew to 20,000 members and gained legal and legislative recognition for Mono Lake.
A decade later, David Gaines and a Committee staff volunteer, Don Oberlin, were killed in a winter automobile accident near Lee Vining. Despite the loss of its founder, our citizens' action group has continued to lead the fight to protect Mono Lake.
Since 1978, the Committee has achieved many accomplishments in the fight to protect Mono Lake. Working with the public and an extraordinary coalition of government agencies and non-profit groups, the Committee has brought negotiation, legislation, and litigation to Mono Lake's support.
However, the fight to protect and restore Mono Lake is far from over. Much work remains to restore desiccated waterfowl habitat and riparian vegetation, educate the public, promote water conservation, and maintain Mono Lake's protected status in state and federal political arenas.
Free exhibits, visitor information, and film.
We issue a newsletter three to four times a year.
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