Videos
Mono Lake is an ancient saline lake on the edge of the Great Basin Desert. It is an ecological wonder and historically intriguing and perhaps no one knows more about it than David Carle. Mr. Carle has authored 19 books on topics of the Eastern Sierra and the Mono Basin. He was a Ranger in California State Parks, including 18 years at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve. He has served as president of the Mono Basin Historical Society and has resided at Mono Lake for four decades.
Please join us and learn about the natural and historical history of the region, the environmental concerns of the 21st Century and David Carle’s personal story of life at Mono Lake. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.
The Bodie Hills lie between the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin Desert on the California/Nevada border. Its landscape is both scenic and ecologically diverse. This land provides habitat for a variety of species including the imperiled Bi-State Sage Grouse. Jora Fogg knows much about the Bodie Hills. She is Policy Director for Friends of the Inyo and leads the Bodie Hills Conservation Partnership––a coalition of organizations opposed to industrial-scale gold mining in the hills, and advocating for their permanent protection. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.
David Nichols specializes in digging up the past. As Park Archeologist at the Mojave National Preserve, he has identified a variety of prehistoric resources including rock art sites. Mr. Nichols discusses the forensics for the excavation of the Casebier Midden in the Mojave Preserve. He will tell how the site was discovered, decisions made to best study it, and the story of unearthing evidence from a place that humans lived thousands of years ago. You will learn much about the tasks of archaeology and the joys of discovery in the California desert. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.
Susan Sorrells grew up along the Amargosa in the town of Shoshone, CA. After college and living in overseas, Ms. Sorrells returned to her home town in the late-1970's. She has since led efforts to preserve the desert––including programs to save near-extinct animals, restore river wetlands, and most recently, to create a Amargosa Basin National Monument. Ms. Sorrells has a wealth of knowledge, experiences and stories about the Amargosa, that she shares with us at this truly special Desert Survivors event. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.
Learn about this remarkable environmental success and efforts to make Owens Lake a lasting habitat for wildlife during Desert Survivors' online Zoom presentation: Owens Lake’s Returning Wildlife - Hemespheric Importance by botanist and environmental activist Mike Prather. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.
David Oline's April 18, 2021 slide show/presentation about the Great Basin of North America. Mr. Oline discusses the geography, geology, and the plant and animal life of this place where rivers never reach to the sea and people are few and far between. The show features highlights of Desert Survivors trips into this region led by Mr. Oline. His accounts of these excursions are intriguing. They will make you want to get out there too. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.
The desert is home to a wide variety of venomous reptiles and arthropods and myths about them abound; yet only a handful are capable of producing medically significant injuries in people. In this July 18, 2021 slide show/presentation, wildlife biologist Michael Cardwell tells which creatures are truly dangerous, how to identify them, avoid their bites and stings, and provide appropriate first aid. He discusses common myths about these intriguing animals. Click on the above image to watch the video on Vimeo.