Mono Lake: A Journey Through Nature and Law

On the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, about a five-hour drive from San Francisco, you can find Mono Lake, an ancient and mystical lake, and the subject of a landmark water rights ruling, National Audubon Society v. Superior Court, 33 Cal.3d 419 (1983).

Justice Broussard described Mono Lake in his opening paragraph: 

Mono Lake, the second largest lake in California, sits at the base of the Sierra Nevada escarpment near the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park. The lake is saline; it contains no fish but supports a large population of brine shrimp which feed vast numbers of nesting and migratory birds. Islands in the lake protect a large breeding colony of California gulls, and the lake itself serves as a haven on the migration route for thousands of Northern Phalarope, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Eared Greve. Towers and spires of tufa on the north and south shores are matters of geological interest and a tourist attraction.

The tufa towers are made of calcium carbonate, a type of limestone. 

Beginning in 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power diverted the streams that fed into Mono Lake to provide water for LA. As a result, in the 1970s, the level of the lake dropped; the surface area decreased by one-third; one of the two principal islands in the lake became a peninsula. This exposed the gull rookery to coyotes and other predators, causing the gulls to abandon the former island. (33 Cal.3d at 424) The Court ruled that human and environmental uses of Mono Lake are protected by the public trust doctrine and need to be taken into account in reconsidering the water allocation to LA. 

Mono Lake isn’t a day trip. A great option is using Mammoth Lakes as a base.