Conservation
Current Issues
- Groundwater Pumping and the Inyo-LA Long Term Water Agreement (LTWA)
- LADWP's Solar Park proposal
- See our Creosote Ring Sub-chapter page for information about the Ridgecrest Solar Power Project (RSPP)
- See LA Times story, L.A. takes a shine to another Owens Valley product: sun for some background
- The Solar Park is proposed as a dust control measure that provides energy as a bonus. No one knows how effective solar panels will be for dust control, so testing is needed. See the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District's Owens Dust Cam to get an idea of the scope of the issue.
Notes from the Conservation Chair
Goals
The current goal of my activities as conservation chair is to focus attention on the excessive groundwater pumping conducted by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) and the destructive effects this pumping is having on Owens Valley alkali meadow habitat. This habitat is rare in California and is home to a number of rare species.
DWP's pumping is supposed to be managed in accordance with provisions of the Inyo-LA Long Term Water Agreement (LTWA). There are abundant data, however, showing DWP's management is not in compliance with the LTWA. For more information about the provisions of the LTWA and DWP's failed implementation of it, please visit the Owens Valley Committee website at www.ovcweb.org.
"Managing Drought in Owens Valley" Parts 1 and 2
Videos of a case study presentation at the Ecological Society of America November 2009 Millenium Conference, "Water-Ecosystem Services, Drought, and Environmental Justice," presented by Bristlecone Chapter Conservation Chair Daniel Pritchett and (then) Vice-President Sally Manning:
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Recent Conservation Articles
- July/August 2010: RIP Inyo County Water Commission: 1980 -2010?
- May/June 2010: Inyo’s chickens come home to roost: DWP’s 2010 groundwater management plan
- March/April 2010: DFG Capitulates, LADWP Prevaricates
- January/February 2010: The Blackrock Saga Continues
- November/December 2009: Good News for a Change!
- May/June 2008: DWP Recognizes the Bristlecone Chapter
- January/February 2008: New Water Department Director
- November/December 2007: Conservation – Exercises in Futility
- March/April 2007: Conservation – Confusion Reigns
Daniel Pritchett (Bristlecone Chapter Conservation Chair) is responsible for the content of the conservation pages. Please contact him at conservation@bristleconecnps.org with questions or comments.