Explore the Mono Basin with the experts! Check out the 2026 Field Seminar itineraries from experienced trip leaders spanning a variety of environmental topics, skills workshops, and naturalist outings. Registration opens Feb 15 at 8AM: monolake.org/fieldseminars 📸: H. Ashby, R. Di Paolo, S. Lampley

If you are inspired by the uniqueness of the Mono Basin and want to help protect #MonoLake in your free time, then the Mono Lake Volunteer Program is for you! The program contributes to protecting and restoring Mono Lake. For more information please visit monolake.org/volunteer. 📸 Janet Carle

Poconip fog leaves rime ice on everything it touches around #MonoLake. The longer the fog is present, the more the frosty crystals grow. When the sun finally comes out the rime ice sparkles until it melts! 📷 Andrew Youssef

Poconip fog has persisted in the Mono Basin for the last several weeks. The view from Conway Summit north of #MonoLake shows the dense layer of fog, which is especially stunning at sunrise! 📷 1 & 2: Hannah Ashby, 3: Janet Carle

Last chance to apply for the 2026 Birding and Mono Lake Intern positions. Applications will stop being reviewed after January 16. Bookstore Assistant and Alkali Fly Research Technician applications will remain open until filled. 🔗Apply at: monolake.org/jobs 📸Teri Tracy

So far in 2026, #MonoLake has been blanketed by a thick layer of poconip fog on several days! The fog forms during calm weather and temperature inversions, when the ground is snow-covered, and when it's sunny in most other parts of the Eastern Sierra. 📷 Robbie Di Paolo

Want to learn to capture stunning photos of #MonoLake like these? Join instructor Joe Decker on our Winter Photography seminar this January 17–19 and experience the quiet solitude of the Mono Basin this season. Just a few spots are left, go to monolake.org/seminars to sign up! 📷 Joe Decker

If you haven't had a chance to make a make a year-end donation for Mono Lake, today is the day—we need about 40 more Mono Lake supporters to donate online today to meet our year-end goal. Please donate today at monolake.org. Every single donation makes a difference. 📷: Malcolm Mosher, Jr.

Wishing you a peaceful, beautiful winter solstice from #MonoLake. 📷 Sherry Taylor, Santiago M. Escruceria, Joaquín Baldwin.

Take 10 minutes to watch this short film that tells the story of phalarope research at #MonoLake and how critical it is to understand saline lakes as we work to save them. Enjoy the gorgeous footage of Mono Lake and its birds in full summer! www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yMe...

✨ Ready to jump-start your career with a grassroots environmental non-profit? 🌄 Consider applying for our 2026 Internship Program! These hands-on roles are a perfect way to grow your skills while working in one a unique landscape. 📅 Accepting applications: December 19, 2025 at monolake.org/jobs.

Stop by the Mono Lake Committee's online store for your holiday gifts! We have a great selection of Mono Lake items, books, and items made by local artisans. Order soon so we can get it to you quickly! www.monolake.org/shop/

Thank you for all your support for Giving Tuesday! It was a great day in Lee Vining with livestreams of sunrise and sunset at #MonoLake and more than 450 people donating to support our work. We will continue to match donations up to $75,000: www.monolake.org. 📷 Elin Ljung

We're 73% of the way to our big #GivingTuesday match goal! Can you help us reach it? You'll get a "Save Mono Lake" bumper sticker with a donation of any amount, and your gift will be doubled to go twice as far for #MonoLake. Donate at www.monolake.org. 📷 Thomas Piekunka

Happy Giving Tuesday from #MonoLake! Donate before midnight at www.monolake.org to have your donation matched and we'll send you a Save Mono Lake bumper sticker. Join us for a sunset livestream at 4:00pm PST today too!

Join us at 6:30am PST tomorrow for sunrise at #MonoLake for Giving Tuesday! Find us streaming at monolake.org. While you watch, make your #GivingTuesday donation, which will be doubled thanks to our $75,000 match! 📷 George Ward

All gifts made through tomorrow, Giving Tuesday, will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $75,000! Your donation will go twice as far for #MonoLake. 📷 Ed Callaert longlive.monolake.org/site/Donatio...

Looking for some Mono Lake fun? Check out our new online puzzle and try to climb the leaderboard. Afterwards, consider donating to our Giving Tuesday campaign which we launched yesterday—all donations are matched through December 2! Puzzle here: app.amuselabs.com/app/jigsaw?i...

Thank you for speaking up! DWP Commissioners received 800+ letters in support of the LA-Mono Lake water replenishment plan, and people are talking about this unique opportunity for a real win-win solution for Mono Lake and LA. Eared Grebes photo courtesy of Rick Kattelmann. More: monolake.org/blog

The DWP Commissioners just approved a major water recycling and groundwater replenishment expansion. They stated that this new water supply enables DWP to pause Mono Lake water diversions. Show support and encourage them to convey this win-win plan to the Water Board: win.newmode.net/monolakecomm...

What's open at #MonoLake during the government shutdown? As of today, South Tufa is open, the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center is open, and the Tioga Road through Yosemite National Park is open. These conditions may change; call (760) 647-6595 for the most updated information. 📷 Brendan Peralez

It's Mono Lake Day today, a day we should be celebrating at the shore of a healthy #MonoLake. Unfortunately, the lake is still nine feet too low—it should be at the top of that T-pole—and is being kept too low by LADWP's ongoing water diversions. 📷 BreeLynn Butler

Happy autumnal equinox from #MonoLake! With crisp mornings, warm days, and the first few aspen leaves changing color, it sure feels like fall. 📷 Ryan Garrett

Now that the air is clear of smoke at Mono Lake, join us for the 7th Annual Mono Basin BioBlitz during California Biodiversity Week! The BioBlitz ends this Sunday, September 14 at midnight, so get the iNaturalist app and help us document every plant, animal, and fungus we can find.

We are open again as normal today! The air quality has improved significantly since yesterday, though it remains in the unhealthy range. The Eastern Sierra will likely see smoke of varying levels until the Garnet Fire is contained or out. 📷 Elin Ljung

We have closed the #MonoLakeCommittee bookstore and office today due to poor air quality. AirNow.gov is reporting an AQI of 1,600 for PM10 in Lee Vining right now, which is off-the-charts hazardous to health. We plan to reopen tomorrow at 9:00am if the air quality allows. 📷 Elin Ljung

Turning the page to September in the 2025 #MonoLake Calendar has us saying hello to this beautiful capture of South Tufa! 📷 Brian Biery

The 44th Tioga Pass Run is coming up this Sunday, September 7 ... have you registered yet? It may be 12.4 miles, but it's only one hill! Sign up at www.monolake.org/event/tioga-... to join in the fun. 📷 Bartshe Miller

Next week will be a great time to visit Mono Lake and record the species you see when you're out and about. The Mono Basin is always one of the most biodiverse places in the BioBlitz ... help us retain that title! 🦉🕸️🌲🌸

Turning the August page of the 2025 Mono Lake Calendar had us saying farewell to this beautiful image of Rush Creek flowing into #MonoLake. 📷 George Ward

Hard to believe it, but summer is starting to wind down. We have loved seeing members, friends, and visitors here at Mono Lake all season long. Happy summer 2025 from the #MonoLakeCommittee staff! 📷 Andrew Youssef

Wildfire smoke from the Garnet Fire east of Fresno has arrived at #MonoLake. We expect the it to stick around for a while given the large size of the fire, the low containment percentage so far, and the wind forecast. Check the air quality before you visit. 📷 Elin Ljung

It's the last weekend for guided bird tours in Lundy Canyon this summer! Join us tomorrow and Sunday at 8:00am at the Lundy Resort for a leisurely walk to see the feathered friends inhabiting this beautiful canyon. Tours are free; reserve your spot here: www.monolake.org/visit/activi... 📷 Elin Ljung

#MonoLake is back in the LA Times! Click through for a great article about the way phalaropes, a small migratory bird, connect lakes and communities in California and Argentina.

There are only two more weekends of canoe tours on #MonoLake for the summer! Join us to enjoy the view from the water--you'll see tufa towers growing, catch brine shrimp, and watch migratory birds flying past. It's an unforgettable experience! Reserve your spot at monolake.org/canoe 📷 Andrew Youssef

South Tufa tours are in the Los Angeles Times today! You can join a tour for free every day through September and learn about Mono Lake from a fantastic guide, like Mono Lake Committee Education Director Ryan Garrett, pictured here!

Great article about #MonoLake on the front page of the Los Angeles Times today! The State Water Board says, "The fact that we have not gotten to [the mandated healthy level] is problematic, and we want to find a way to achieve that." Click through to read the whole thing.

Late July at #MonoLake with hot sunny days and thunderheads building up every afternoon... It's a wonderful time to be here! 📷 Elin Ljung

Join us on Wednesdays at 4:00pm at the Mono Lake Committee for refreshments with Refreshing 'Ologists! This lecture series showcases local researchers and their work in the Mono Basin. This week Dr. Scott Stine will be here to discuss climate change and Mono Lake.

Join us on Saturday, August 2, 4:00-6:00pm at the Mono Lake Committee for a reception for our new gallery show, "Flora of the Sierra Nevada: Botanical Watercolors & Hand-Painted Silks." Come enjoy light refreshments, meet the artist Linda Ann Vorobik, and see her work in person.

A glimpse through #MonoLake tufa towers on a perfect summer evening. Can you spot the Osprey in its nest? 📷 Andrew Youssef

Two months ago these dedicated community members were fighting the #InnFire as it was burning next to Mono Lake. We are proud that the group includes current and former Mono Lake Committee staff! Thank you to all who keep our community safe.

Every day at 10am and 6pm you can join a guide at South Tufa for a tour! Catch and observe brine shrimp, make your own tufa, and learn all about #MonoLake. Tours are free; reserve your spot at monolake.org/freetour. 📷 Teri Tracy

This morning volunteers began removing the burned State Reserve boardwalk at #MonoLake County Park, which was damaged by the #InnFire. Thank you to the volunteers, California State Parks, Mono County, the Bodie Foundation, and the Lee Vining Women's League for helping to make this happen!

Lee Vining and Argentinian students birding at Laguna Mar Chiquita during the Experience Ambientalia exchange! The week is wrapping up and the Americans are getting ready to migrate back to Mono Lake, just like Wilson's Phalaropes, the tiny shorebird that links these two saline lakes. 📷 Ryan Garrett

Lee Vining and Argentinian students together at Laguna Mar Chiquita for the Experience Ambientalia program! We love to see this exchange in action after a year of planning to make it happen. 📷 Ryan Garrett

¡Buen viaje Experience Ambientalia! Five local students left Lee Vining this week, bound for Laguna Mar Chiquita in Argentina, Mono Lake's sister lake. The group will spend a week with Argentinian students learning, birding, and working for the conservation of both saline lakes. 📷 Geoff McQuilkin

KQED covered the crisis facing Mono Lake's California Gulls: "California gulls that nest at the eastern Sierra's #MonoLake suffered a catastrophic breeding failure last year, according to the latest installment in a four-decade-long series of reports tracking the birds' health."

Last year was a very bad year for nesting California Gulls at #MonoLake. Data and observations reveal that uncertain food timing and productivity and recurring coyote predation—all due to low lake levels—are likely causing disruption. Read the full story here:

This Fourth of July holiday, keep things fun and ignite adventure, not wildfires! Opt out of personal fireworks. Make sure stoves/matches/cigarettes, etc. are extinguished. Avoid parking/driving on vegetation - even exhaust pipes and under-inflated/damaged tires can spark fires!