APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS LONG VALLEY RULING
Decision Clears Way for the Destruction of Critical Alpine Meadow in Mono County Mammoth Lakes, CA (July 1, 2022) – The First District Court of Appeal for the State of California announced yesterday its decision to overturn a March 2021 ruling in favor of Mono County and the Sierra Club protecting habitat in Mono County.
That ruling had compelled the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) to continue providing water for wildlife habitat, and scenic, recreational and economic resources in the Long Valley and Little Round Valley regions of Mono County. This decision is the latest development in litigation originally filed by Mono County and the Sierra Club under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in 2018, seeking to prevent damage to the region’s valuable environmental resources.
“In reaching this decision, the court deferred entirely to a version of history invented and spun by high-priced attorneys for the City of Los Angeles. The court’s ruling ignores the impacts to the land and species that depend upon it and will have profound and long-lasting impacts in Mono County,” said Mono County Supervisor Bob Gardner.
Yesterday’s ruling clears the way for LADWP to turn off the tap to 6,100 acres of
land in Long Valley and Little Round Valleys, which has historically been irrigated to create vibrant meadows, pastureland and habitat.
This comes as California is suffering through its worst drought in 1,200 years. The impact of dewatering Long and Little Round Valleys is the subject of a new award-winning documentary, Without Water, screening at film festivals throughout the year.
“As shown in the film, the impacts from LADWP’s efforts to dewater Long and
Little Round Valley will be devastating,” said Wendy Schneider, executive
director of Friends of the Inyo. “We will see profound losses of native plants and
animals, including the Bi-State Sage Grouse a stunning and rare bird currently
being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act, incursion of
invasive plant species, an increase of the threat of fire, the creation of dust and
airborne particulates, and more.”
Coalition representatives have vowed to continue the fight to Keep Long Valley
Green.
About Keep Long Valley Green:
The Keep Long Valley Green coalition is comprised of a diverse group of
stakeholders including non-profit organizations, local indigenous tribes, and the
12 ranching families that lease LADWP land in Long and Little Round Valleys.
For more information, go to www.keeplongvalleygreen.org.
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Nothing is ever good enough on the left….the incessant whining is making people in the middle, go to the right….
He who hath the most money wins…and the hell with the environment and Wildlife…big money wins,unless your an habitual liar and you’re running for President.
Well, that was a nice, non-biased article by the “News Staff”. As well balanced as at is, it neglects to mention that the verdant meadows, dotted with cows, that are created by these diversions come at the cost of the dead and dying aspen groves and wetlands that were once supported by these natural streams. It would be refreshing to see some support for the natural environment rather than the artificial one.
SW doesn’t really do news so much as distribute whatever press releases come in. It’s more of a public bulletin board than a news journal.
RandyK
Thing is ,in today’s “new America”, the “natural environment ” is dictated by who has the most money,and what they want to do to make even more…near and far away.
Nothing “natural ” about that…
Remember a few years ago,when all that mattered was the big oil companies tearing through the Wilderness and Wildlife areas,Native American Land and burial sites,all for the sake of the big bucks for some to ship oil out of the Country ?
Thankfully,that “project ” got shut down muy-pronto when President Biden took office.
A win for the Wildlife and the environment,as well as sacred land being disrespected.
Thank you Randy. I’m glad glad somebody said it. But what do we expect from a generation raised on Theme parks…
Yup. These irrigated lands ARE NOT a natural feature.
The other bit of subterfuge in this campaign is the wringing of hands over the sage grouse – a bird which evolved to live in the sagebrush steppe habitat which has little to no naturally occurring water – especially not year round. The fact is that sage grouse GET ALL THE WATER THEY NEED FROM THE FOOD THEY EAT just like many other desert dwelling critters.
And the “native” plants that will lose water? Gee – I would think that native plants growing in the desert already have that figured out. If they are growing in an artificially watered area they don’t really belong there. And how about the native plants that have been lost because their naturally delivered water is going elsewhere? Or how about he plant life which cannot survive in the irrigated meadows because they evolved without irrigation?
So yeah – diverting water from one place to another is BAD in the “environmentalist’s” mind set – unless, of course, cutting off the water diversions means the “environmentalists” and the tourists will have to look at the meadows drying up like nature intended.
I don’t believe L.A. is entitled to the water either but the hypocrisy and continuous attempts at hoodwinking on the part of the so-called environmental organizations here in the Eastern Sierra is nauseating.
Once again the environment suffers at the hands of the human race. I guess with all the development just up the road in Mammoth, and the anticipated extra consumption of water because of it, DWP had to get those extra acre feet somewhere.
Yea, we’re in a drought, but until Mammoth says no to overtourism and overdevelopment, and the resultant extra water consumption because of it, well, its somewhat laughable that we have to have water restrictions.
“LA is doing this because of Mammoth development” seems like a very informed and educated take.
What a sad day, this decision is wrong in so many ways. The total and obvious detrimental impacts to Mono County compared to the benefit this small amount (compared to total water use of LA) of water brings LA should have been enough to stop this water transfer in its tracks.