-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Reis
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 1:59 PM
Subject: Mono Basin Clearinghouse Updates for 03/17/03


Dear Friends,
This month almost every section of the Mono Basin Clearinghouse (www.monobasinresearch.org) has something new! And make sure you don't miss "Also of interest" below, for some new articles (relevant to the Mono Basin) on the Yosemite Nature Notes Website (a similar site for the entire Sierra Nevada).

HISTORICAL INFO
Mark Twain at Mono Lake: Chapters 38 and 39 of "Roughing It". Volunteer Russell Bell transcribed these chapters for us. While loosely based in fact, the details should not be construed as factual. They are posted for historical reference only. See http://www.monobasinresearch.org/historical/twain.htm.

RAW DATA
January Weather Summary for Lee Vining - Calmest since 1997 and driest since 1991. Temperatures are wrong for the month due to sensor insulation by snow. Thanks to a donation of an instrument housing, in the spring we will relocate the temperature sensor to a better location.

February Weather Summary for Lee Vining - Precipitation about average, calmest February in the last three years (the extent of our record).

LEGAL INFO
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) removed the HTML files of Water Rights Orders 98-05 and 98-07 (the restoration orders) from their Website and replaced them (along with a copy of D1631) with files in PDF format. Unfortunately, they take forever to download--D1631 is 16 MB and 98-05 is 6 MB. The SWRCB provided the much-faster-loading HTML files to us, which we have posted for quick reference. See www.monobasinresearch.org/legal for links to all the files in each format.

ONLINE REPORTS
Mono Basin EIR (1993 - happy 10th anniversary!) - Previously all of the figures were missing. Many missing figures have now been added--over 100 in Volume 1 and 100 in Volume 2! There are still a few missing, however most are there, thanks to the tireless scanning efforts of 2002 intern Peter Lang. Added figures include: maps of the islands, meteorological and PM10 dust data, L.A. water and power supply figures, water quality data, shrimp and fly data, and fish monitoring data.

CURRENT RESEARCH
The Eastern Sierra Riparian Songbird Conservation Project has a new sub-project: Identification of Songbird Nest Predators on Mono Lake Tributaries.

PRBO and OIKONOS and a graduate student who has worked on the songbird project for several years (Quresh Latif) are focusing in on a research project in the Mono Basin which is songbird nest predator identification with the use of video surveillance equipment (as a subset of the wider project). Quresh just recently put a description of this project on the OIKONOS website. Find the link here http://www.monobasinresearch.org/onlinereports/esrscp.htm and also on the Current Research page.

The Mono Lake Microbial Observatory's March 2003 4-year report. See http://www.monobasinresearch.org/research/microbial/

NEW LINKS
Adaptive Management: A tool for conservation practitioners
Understanding Lake Ecology: a 21-page limnology primer
See http://www.monobasinresearch.org/links/

ALSO OF INTEREST
There are some really good articles in Yosemite Nature Notes right now: http://www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/. How snow melts; how lenticular clouds form; how trails fragment invertebrate populations in meadows. An article about noise in National Parks mentions how an F-16 flyover at Mono Lake caused spadefoot toads to become quiet for several hours and those individuals that continued vocalizations experienced increased predation. The account can be found in this book: Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of the Natural World (Wilderness Press, Berkeley, 2002)" (Book review: http://www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/BookReviews.htm)

UNSUBSCRIBE
If at any time you decide that you no longer wish to receive these occasional (approx. monthly) updates about additions to this Website, please email unsubscribe@monobasinresearch.org and ask to be removed from the list. If you know of anyone who would be interested in these updates, please forward them this update and tell them to email updates@monobasinresearch.org to receive future updates.

Thanks for your interest in Mono Basin research,
Greg
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Greg Reis, Information Specialist, (760) 647-6386 x41
Mono Lake Committee, ph (760) 647-6595, fax 647-6377
Hwy 395 & 3rd St., P.O. Box 29, Lee Vining, CA 93541 USA
Websites: monolake.org - monobasinresearch.org -
leevining.com - livinglakes.org - birdchautauqua.org
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The Mono Lake Committee is a non-profit citizen's 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.
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