News
DWP abandons LA’s commitment to Mono Lake
Mono Lake Committee - Geoff McQuilkin
2024 was once full of celebration that the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) had committed to a new collaborative approach to restoring Mono Lake. But the optimism abruptly ended in November, when DWP quietly reversed its plan and began maximizing water exports.
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In California, Tribal Members Are Reclaiming the ‘Land of the Flowing Water’
Jill Cowan - LA Times
Several tribes in Owens Valley in the eastern Sierra Nevada see hope in small property transfers that have become part of a growing “Land Back” movement.
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Column: DWP’s new leader wants to shake things up. It won’t be easy
Sammy Roth - LA Times
Last month, Janisse Quiñones took the helm as the agency’s new leader, after being recommended by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and confirmed unanimously by City Council.
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Revealed: a century-old water war is leaving this rural California county in disrepair
Katie Licari - The Guardian
Los Angeles has long owned large swaths of the Owens valley. Officials in the region say the city has been ‘stonewalling’ their attempts to make critical infrastructure repairs
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As Los Angeles plans to take less water, environmentalists celebrate a win for Mono Lake
Ian James - LA Times
City leaders in Los Angeles have announced plans to take a limited amount of water from creeks that feed Mono Lake this year, a step that environmentalists say will help build on a recent rise in the lake’s level over the last year.
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Revealed: The rural Californians who can’t sell their businesses – because LA is their landlord
Katie Licari - The Guardian
Los Angeles has long owned large swathes of the Owens valley. An investigation reveals how the city has tightened its grip.
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In California, a native people fight to recover their stolen waters
Teresa Cotsirilos - Food & Environment Reporting Network
A study of centuries-old irrigation ditches suggests the Nüümü people could rightfully lay claim to the waters of Owens Lake.
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Cost of Owens Valley storm damage continues to mount for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Louis Sahagun, staff writer for the LA Times, explores the growing cost of LADWP’s infrastructure in the Owens Valley.
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California to return 40 acres in Inyo County — including historic hatchery — to Paiute people
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be returning more than 40 acres of Inyo County land to the Indigenous Paiute people in early in 2024, including a decades-old fish hatchery located along historic Route 395.
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LADWP Will Continue to Protect Sensitive Tribal Areas and Work with Local Tribal Representatives at Owens Lake
On September 27, 2022, the Sacramento Superior Court issued a ruling that rejected Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District’s (Great Basin) argument that it had unlimited regulatory control over LADWP.
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Owens Valley tribes honor a legacy of ‘beauty and suffering’ with historic site nomination
Louis Sahagun from the LA Times writes about the effort by five local tribes to designate 186 square miles of the lakebed for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources and in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Honoring A Water Warrior: How Harry Williams Fought for Paiute Water Rights in Owens Valley
This week, thousands mourn the loss of Harry Williams, an elder of the Bishop Paiute Tribe who fought for the water rights of the Northern Paiute in Owens Valley.
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DWP archaeologists uncover grim chapter in Owens Valley history
LA Times Article by Louis Sahagun about a horrific massacre of Paiute people on the shores of Owens Lake in 1863.
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