Inyo County Visitors Guide - 11th Edition

in decline for years and has been targeted for rehabilitation. The turnaround at the Owens Lake could provide a template for the Salton Sea and other western lakes, the Audubon noted. Rob Clay, the director of the shorebird reserve network, noted that the years of work to bring bird life back to the lake was an example of how human welfare and conservation can be linked to create positive results for local residents and the environment. Owens Valley residents are familiar with the story of the lake’s new life. The lake dried up in the 1920s because the Owens River, which used to feed the lake, was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, leaving the lake to slowly dry up. After a number of lawsuits and a resulting court order, in 2001 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began a massive, landscape-scale project to reduce the billowing dust that came off the lake. That project included planting vegetation or covering dust- generating areas with gravel or using shallow flooding to stop the dust. The shallow flooding almost immediately started attracting birds. Eventually, about 55 square miles of the lakebed, or about half of the dry lake, had received some sort of dust “treatment.” After spending about $2 billion on the dust control project, the amount of dust coming of the lake had been reduced by 95 percent. And the birds have returned. Get It Until It’s Gone! 772 N. Main St., Bishop, CA 760-872-4227 www.HolySmokeTexasStyleBBQ.com DINE IN • TAKE OUT • CATERING MEATS Brisket Tri Tip Ribs Pulled Pork Sausage SIDEKICKS Potato Salad Mac N Cheese Smokehouse Beans Cornbread Baked Potato Side Salad SWEET TOOTH Country Apple Crisp • Banana Pudding ALL HOMEMADE Owens Lake INYO COUNTY • 11th Edition 5 Some of the participants on the Owens Lake during the fourth annual Owens Lake Bird Festival earlier this year. Photo courtesy Ben Wickman, Friends of the Inyo. Continued from page 4