Mono Lake, the source of the bacteria that can incorporate arsenic, rather than the usual phosphorus, into its DNA.

Mono Lake is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, about 300 miles by car from San Francisco. It is an amazing landscape; the lake is set against the backdrop of the snow-capped mountains. There are crispy shrubs nearby, but no trees. Crusty white towers, called tufas, rise up from the water.

The water in the lake is snowmelt and rainwater runoff from the mountains. It enters the lake via streams. But the lake is a closed basin and has no drainage—water can only leave by evaporation. The water evaporates, but the salts and minerals, like arsenic, are left behind. As a result, the lake is very salty—twice as salty as the ocean—and is very alkaline, or basic.

That super-salty water may not seem very hospitable, but in fact the lake is full of life. In addition to the now-famous bacteria, the lake is home to brine shrimp and the larvae of alkaline flies. During the summer, the brine shrimp number in the trillions. They feed on algae that grow green at the lake’s surface. The brine shrimp are food for the two million migratory birds that stop at Mono Lake to feed each year, and the nesting populations of California Gulls and Snowy Plovers.

In addition to its cool geology and important role in North American bird ecology, Mono Lake is at the center of a water supply saga. Water levels in the lake were historically much higher. To get an idea of previous water levels, take a look at the tufas. They were formed while underwater. They’re made of calcium carbonate, which precipitated as fresh water bubbled up from the bottom of the lake. Thousands of years ago, the lake was as much as 900 feet deep, perhaps covering parts of Utah and Nevada. In recent history, the lake was about 170 feet deep.

Beginning in the late 1800s, the freshwater streams that fed the lake were diverted by settlers so they could irrigate their farms. The water level started dropping. In 1941, four of the five streams that flowed into Mono Lake were diverted to the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Supplying the growing city of Los Angeles with water involved intrigue and duplicity and scandal, which were well documented in the book Cadillac Desert. Between 1941 and 1982, because of the reduced freshwater input, the water level in Mono Lake dropped by 45 feet.

The drop in water level was bad for the migratory and resident birds, particularly the California Gulls, which nested on islands in the lake. As water evaporated, some islands become connected to the shore. The birds were no longer protected from roaming coyotes. And, more exposed shoreline meant that the wind kicked up alkaline dust storms. In addition the lake got saltier—at one point it was nearly three times as salty as the ocean.

In response to these changes, the Mono Lake Committee, the National Audubon Society, and other conservation groups have begun to restore Mono Lake. It is now mandated that more water flow into the lake, and the water level has started to rise. The habitats and ecological processes of the lake are recovering. Additional discoveries, like the bacteria that can use arsenic to make its DNA, will hopefully rise out of Mono Lake in the future.

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California Coho Salmon are listed as federally protected,
and are critically endangered. Image: Richard James

As we would with any loved one, we care about its health and well being. Over the years we have witnessed wanton pollution from purposeful and "accidental" sewage spills, there has been gravel mining, seemingly unchecked agri-business dumping pesticides and sucking wells dry, and more than anything, precious water has been continuously pumped out and diverted to quench the thirst of the ever-growing populations of Sonoma and Marin Counties. Each one of these factors has taken some of the life and wildness out of the Russian River. And there comes a point when the natural world and The River does not have anything left to give.

Still there is the hope that nature is resilient. One of the best indicators of environmental health on the Russian River would be the return of the native salmon. While producing our story on these magnificent fish we had the privilege to witness the incredibly dedicated conservation fishery biologists at the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery at Lake Sonoma. Seeing them work gave me a lot of hope. These men and women literally hold the future of the coho salmon in their hands. Each egg is tenderly cared for– each little growing fish is carefully identified, numbered and individually tagged before being gently released into the wild. It is an enormous, time-consuming and laborious task. But without them, the critically endangered coho salmon have little or no realistic chance of returning to the Russian River.

Sadly, it seems that much of their work may have gone for naught. In early April 2009, for just one night's frost protection, the wineries of the Russian River valley went against a request by the National Marine Fisheries Service and turned open their taps, taking so much water out of the Russian River watershed that the water-table dramatically dropped resulting in a massive coho salmon die-off. It's another heartbreaking blow to an already perilous situation. The wineries were told specifically about the consequences of their actions last year at a special meeting held by the State Water Resources Control Board. Yet to protect a small percentage of an already glutted crop, the wineries knowingly risked dooming an entire species to extinction.

For more information see:

Quick drop in water level kills coho | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA
04/04/09
Frost protection measures to save crops stranded fish in Russian River tributary

Coho killed after water diverted to protect crops | SF Chronicle
04/04/09
Endangered coho salmon killed after a sudden drop in the water level…

I have always advocated for The Russian River and its small communities and businesses. I recommend it as the perfect getaway for friends looking for a weekend exploration. Hiking, canoeing, wine-tasting or exploring–The River is the place. In turn I have also regularly recommended and sought out Russian River wines. But I doubt I'll be recommending anything from this year's vintage. I have a feeling the 2009 Russian River wines are going to leave a very bitter taste.

Watch the California's Lost Salmon television story online.

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