"The Kootzaduka’a says the state water board should live up to its recently adopted environmental justice promises to save their cultural and natural heritage."
"Against the backdrop of a severe drought linked with global warming, conservation advocates and Native Americans in California are calling for a temporary emergency stop to all surface water diversions from Mono Lake, contending that continuing to drain the watershed, along with the long-term drought, threaten critical ecosystems, as well as the Kootzaduka’a tribe’s cultural connection with the lake.
In a pair of letters written in December 2022, the Mono Lake Committee and California Indian Legal Services claimed that Mono Lake’s water has dropped to a level requiring emergency action, and asked that all surface water diversions be curtailed until the lake’s elevation gets closer to an elevation of 6,392 feet. That was set as a protective level for Mono by the state in 1994, but the lake has never come close to reaching it.
The emergency request will be considered on Feb. 15 during a public workshop arranged by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The input session will be livestreamed and the public can sign up to watch and comment."
Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News February 14, 2023.
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