Please Get Involved! The ROLG has been active in many environmental issues in the Eastern Sierra for almost three decades, but it needs your help now more than ever.
The ROLG is looking for volunteers (members or non) to become involved in the many issues impacting the Eastern Sierra or to help those currently addressing these issues. We need people to do research on an issue, to raise support for an issue, and to communicate the issues to the public. The few of us that do this work is not enough. For more information contact Malcolm wmalcolm.clark@gmail.com or Lynn chairrolg@gmail.com.
How Important is the Eastern Sierra?
The Eastern Sierra ranges from the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains east to the Nevada border. The entire Eastern Sierra is a wildlife corridor connecting the deserts of the south (Great Basin, Mojave, and Sonoran) to the Cascades and Canadian Rockies to the north. Within it are large corridors such as the north-south mountain ranges and the critical east-west trending Glass Mountains. The California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project (CEHC) points out the importance of this region as a migration corridor and how it will be increasingly more important as vegetation and wildlife respond to drought and increasing temperatures projected with climate change. It is essential to wildlife that the Eastern Sierra remains intact and can sustain healthy ecosystems.
The California State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) also counts on the Eastern Sierra continuing to support a variety of wildlife and species across the tremendous variety of ecosystems. Ecosystems range from alpine to high desert to low desert in Death Valley. With north facing slopes and a range of elevations, there are many micro-habitats within the many ecosystems that will help many species survive climate change.
With recent rollbacks of environmental regulations, reduced funding for the agencies that manage our public lands, the high price of gold, and the increase in people coming to the Eastern Sierra to recreate, it has been harder to maintain our open landscapes and to keep ecosystems intact. The variety of terrain, open spaces, and beauty of the Eastern Sierra makes it a great playground for millions of Californians and visitors from around the world. However, thousands of people dispersed across the region during the summers severely impacts the lives of the animals that live here. It is important that recreation have limits.
