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Mono Lake Committee collection
WRCA 204
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Title: Mono Lake Committee collection
Date (inclusive): 1919-1997
Date (bulk): 1977-1995
Collection Number: WRCA 204
Creator:
Mono Lake Committee
Extent:
26.40 linear feet
(62 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: This collection contains the organizational papers of the Mono Lake Committee from its creation in 1978 through the mid-1990s.
The bulk of the collection consists of legal files documenting the various lawsuits in which the Committee was involved during
this time period.
Languages: The collection is in English.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.
Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Mono Lake Committee collection (WRCA 204). Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Gift of the Mono Lake Committee, 1997.
Processed by Melissa McGann, 2008.
Collection number updated February 2019. Legacy collection number was MS 99/4. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019
to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
In 1974, David Gaines became acquainted with Mono Lake during an inventory of the natural areas of Mono County. In 1976 he
helped to form the Mono Basin Research Group with undergraduates from Stanford, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and Earlham College,
which received grant funding from the National Science Foundation. The Mono Basin Research Group conducted the first comprehensive
ecological study of Mono Lake,
An Ecological Study of Mono Lake, California, which was published in June 1977 by the UC Davis Institute of Ecology.
This report drew attention to the potentially catastrophic ecological impacts of Mono Lake's falling level due to water diversions
from its tributary streams by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). These diversions began in 1941 and caused
the lake to lose half of its volume, thus doubling its salinity. They also caused Negit Island, an important rookery for California
gulls, to become connected to the mainland, allowing predators access to nesting birds. After editing the Ecological Study,
Mono Basin Research Group member David Winkler walked across the newly exposed land bridge to Negit Island in November 1977
and felt compelled to do something before the next gull breeding season. He enlisted the help of David Gaines to form an organization
whose sole purpose was to save Mono Lake and its inhabitants.
Winkler and Gaines approached the Sierra Club's Mono Lake Task Force, Friends of the Earth, and the Natural Resources Defense
Council. All were willing to provide support, but none were willing to lead the effort to save Mono Lake. Gaines then appealed
to the Audubon Society's Santa Monica chapter, and in March 1978 he formed the Mono Lake Committee (MLC) as a project of the
Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society(SMBAS). The MLC collected donations through the SMBAS while it went through the process of
incorporation.
Winkler chose to pursue a doctorate degree, which left Gaines and fellow Mono Basin Research Group member Sally Judy in
charge of the MLC. Gaines created publicity for MLC's efforts by traveling around the state showing a Mono Lake slide show
to schools, conservation groups, legislators, and anyone else who would listen. The newly-formed Mono Lake Committee decided
to focus on three areas of action: legal, legislative, and educational. In 1980, the MLC acquired a building on Highway 395
in Lee Vining for their headquarters. The Mono Lake Information Center opened at this location on Memorial Day weekend, 1980.
In order to attract more visitors, the Information Center also functioned as the Lee Vining Chamber of Commerce.
In 1982 the MLC hired its first full-time executive director, Ed Grosswiler, a former congressional aide and Associated Press
reporter. Grosswiler worked out of Committee's Los Angeles office, a practice maintained by successive executive directors.
In 1984, Martha Davis became the next executive director, a position she held until 1996. In 1988, David Gaines, generally
acknowledged as the founder of the Mono Lake Committee, died in an automobile accident with fellow MLC member Dan Oberlin
near Mono Lake.
Legislation
As a result of the lobbying efforts of the MLC and others, the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve was created in 1981, followed
in 1984 by the creation of the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area. These two designations brought resources, facilities,
and attention to the Mono Basin. Both the State Reserve and the Scenic Area offer educational programs and visitor services
in the area, and both became involved as friends of the court in litigation to protect Mono Lake. Also as a result of efforts
by the MLC, Mono Lake received international acknowledgement as a site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
Litigation
In 1979, the MLC and the NAS argued in the Mono County Superior Court that water diversions to Los Angeles did not comply
with the public trust doctrine. This legal doctrine, which came to California law from ancient Roman codes, states that the
government has the duty to protect navigable bodies of water for the use and benefit of all the people. In a 1983 precedent-setting
decision, the California Supreme Court agreed with the MLC, ruling that the state has an obligation to protect places such
as Mono Lake, "as far as feasible," even if this means a reconsideration of past water allocation decisions.
In 1984, California Trout, MLC, and NAS brought suit against the City of Los Angeles charging that their water diversions
did not comply with California Fish and Game codes. These codes require that enough water always be allowed to flow below
a dam to keep fisheries in good condition. Eventually, the Public Trust suit and the Fish and Game suits were combined into
one proceeding before the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the agency that allocates water in California.
In 1994 the SWRCB issued Decision 1631, which set minimum flows for the streams, set limits on water exports based on the
level of Mono Lake (designed to raise and stabilize the lake at a level 20 feet above its lowest level), and ordered LADWP
to restore the streams and waterfowl habitat.
Water Replacement Supplies
The MLC realized that the protection of Mono Lake required securing adequate, environmentally sound replacement water supplies
for Los Angeles. Its goal was to help the city meet its real water needs without increasing pressure on other sensitive resources
such as the Bay-Delta and Colorado River. The Committee lobbied throughout the 1980s for both state and federal legislation
that would create funding to help Los Angeles develop water recycling facilities and pay for water conservation programs.
Conservation and recycling in Los Angeles helped the city become more drought-tolerant, reduced the amount of pollution created
by wastewater, and annually created more water than was ever diverted from the Mono Basin. Two legislative bills, AB444 and
HR429, were passed to help fund such projects.
The MLC has been involved in creating and maintaining several water conservation and water recycling policies and programs
in Los Angeles and throughout California. The Committee secured funding and support for water conservation and recycling projects
in Southern California, was one of the negotiators of the state's Best Management Practices Agreement, and served on the steering
committee for the California Urban Water Conservation Council.
NOTE: Information adapted from
Storm Over Mono: The Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future by John Hart, (1996) and the Mono Lake Committee's website, http://www.monolake.org/
Records of the environmental organization the Mono Lake Committee (MLC) span the years 1919-1997, with the bulk of the material
pertaining to the years 1977-1995. The collection includes the operational records of the organization as well as historical
and research records used by the organization in their political and legal efforts to protect Mono Lake.
The collection is organized in twelve series as follows: Administrative Files, Program Files, Media Files, Subject Files,
Research & Reference Materials, MLC Publications, Ephemera, Legislative Files, Legal Records, Petitions, Photographs, and
Artwork.
- Series 1. Administrative Files, 1975-1994
- Series 2. Program Files, 1979-1993
- Series 3. Media Files, 1978-1995
- Series 4. Subject Files, 1929-1996
- Series 5. Research Reference Materials, 1933-1997
- Series 6. MLC Publications, 1978-1993
- Series 7. Ephemera, 1976-1991
- Series 8. Legislative Files, 1972-1994
- Series 9. Legal Records, 1916-1996
- Series 10. Petitions, circa 1970-1999
- Series 11. Photographs, circa 1920-1989
- Series 12. Artwork, 1981
Published books as well as published and unpublished reports have been transferred to the general collection of the Water
Resources Collections and Archives. See collection call number G4676 and other call numbers related to Mono County and Inyo
County water issues. Published articles related to Mono County and Inyo County water issues have also been removed from the
collection. A complete list of removed materials is located with the staff of the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
See also: >Magliari (Michael F.) Papers (WRCA 053)
Related item of interest is:
Storm Over Mono: The Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future by John Hart, (University of California Press, 1996). Call number G4676 N6
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Davis, Martha
Gaines, David
Conservation of natural resources -- California -- Mono Lake
Lake conservation -- Law and legislation -- California -- Mono Lake
Lake ecology -- California -- Mono Lake
Mono Lake (Calif.) -- History
Mono Lake (Calif.) -- Water rights
Restoration ecology -- California -- Mono Lake Region
Water levels -- Environmental aspects -- California -- Mono Lake
Water rights -- California -- Los Angeles
Water withdrawals -- Law and legislation -- California -- Mono Lake
Water-supply -- Law and legislation -- California -- Los Angeles
Administrative records
Ephemera
Legal documents
Photographs