- The Mono Lake story is a rare environmental success that can inspire and inform the environmental challenges of our time.
- Jonah Matthewson filming the Mono Lake poconip
Photograph by Ryan Christensen
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Mono Lake is a striking blue oasis in the eastern California surrounded by desert peaks, volcanoes, and the Sierra Nevada. Strange tufa tower formations and saline waters lie at the edge of mountain streams and snow-capped mountains. Millions of birds, trillions of brine shrimp, and countless alkali flies contribute to one of the most productive lake ecosystems on the planet.
In 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power began 
diverting water from Mono Lake's tributary streams, sending it 350 miles south to meet the growing water demands of Los Angeles. Deprived of its freshwater sources, the lake dropped 45 vertical feet. Its salinity doubled and the ecosystem approached collapse.
Researchers, students, bird freaks, and an engaged public took notice and formed the Mono Lake Committee. Sixteen Years later, this dedicated grassroots movement altered history by protecting Mono Lake, securing new water solutions for Los Angeles, and transforming water law in California.
The Mono Lake Story is about changing values and balancing those values against difficult odds. It's about how a small and dedicated group of individuals, trying to do the right thing, can grow into an effective coalition of organizations, agencies, and public support that triumph over fundamental environmental challenges.
The Mono Lake story is a rare environmental success that can inspire and inform the environmental challenges of our time.
Film Credits
- Directed by:
Ryan M. Christensen
Jonah Matthewson
Director of Photography:
Jonah Matthewson
Edited by:
Ryan M. Christensen
Music by:
Cody Westheimer
Editing by:
Ryan M. Christensen
Jonah Matthewson
Cinematography:
Jonah Matthewson
Ryan M. Christensen
Tom Lowe
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Animation:
Jonah Matthewson
Darcy Helmick
Color Correction:
Jonah Matthewson
Written by:
Ryan M. Christensen
Music Performed by: Cody Westheimer, Matt Cooker, Henry Chowmix. Recorded and Mixed at New West Studios, West LA
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Original Interviews Conducted With:
Claudia Corona, Martha Davis, Hap Dunning, Santiago Escruceria, Sally Gaines, Vireo Gaines, Sacha Heath,
Morgan Lindsay, Mark Lopez, Chris McCreedy, Geoffrey McQuilkin, Bartshé Miller, David Nahai, Kristie Nelson, Greg Reis, Richard Roos-Collins, Tom Soto, Scott Stine, Peter Vorster
Historic Photos and Footage:
Romance of Water, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Water Wars: The Battle of Mono Lake, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, used with permission from Maria Taylor and Dan Wohlfeiler
Ebb and Tide at Mono Lake, California Department of Water Resources
Historical Photo Collection of the Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles
Historic Mono Lake shoreline photo courtesy of Burton Frasher, © Frasher Estate from the Mono Lake Committee Archive
State Water Board hearing footage courtesy of Stephen Fisher
Jim Stimson
Geoffrey McQuilkin
KRON-TV San Francisco
Bike-A-Thon footage courtesy of Eastern Sierra News Service and Benett Kessler
With Support From:
Black Mountain Communications, David & Janet Carle, Arya Degenhardt, David Dore, Jon Kazmierski, Elin Ljung, Dave Marquart, Bartshé Miller, Jonathan Parfrey, Doug Virtue & Kathy Day
Special Thanks To:
BBC Natural History Unit, Claudia Corona, Bruce Dodge, Hap Dunning, Santiago Escruceria, Vireo Gaines, Kyle Giacomo,
Mark Harris, Sacha Heath, Dave Herbst, Jyl Hoyt, Eduardo Hernandez, Benett Kessler, Morgan Lindsay, Mark Lopez, Chris McCreedy, Kristie Nelson, Greg Reis, Angela Tatum, Peter Vorster, Bob Vestal, Mono Lake Committee Board of Directors,
Mono Lake Committee Staff, Virco Mfg. Corporation
Contributing Funders:
Martha Davis, Tom Soto, Ian Oelrichs
Funded in part by a generous bequest from Vern Judy.
Mono Lake Committee Education Programs Operate Under Permits From:
California Department of Parks and Recreation, Inyo National Forest
Filmed With Support From:
Inyo National Forest - Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, PRBO Conservation Science
Filmmakers' Bios
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Jonah Matthewson is a filmmaker and photographer living in California's Eastern Sierra. His ongoing efforts to understand and translate wilderness through the camera and storytelling have carried him abroad for an array of projects. He has worked as cinematographer, director, and producer on a number of independent documentaries and network series, as well as video journalist for the Eastern Sierra News Service. Much of the year, Jonah can be found climbing, mountaineering and skiing in North America's remote alpine nooks.
Ryan Christensen holds a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Writing from Humboldt State University. 
The National Park Service has employed Ryan for over 12 years as an Interpretive and Wilderness Ranger.He has been fortunate to live and work in Yosemite, Death Valley, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Mt. Rainier National Parks, and Mojave National Preserve. He is a life-long backpacker with over 5,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail under his feet. Ryan has a deep passion for bringing compelling stories about the natural world to audiences through documentary. Ryan's previous works include Living Death Valley, America's Wild Spaces - National Geographic Television, Spoke Heroes, Lines From the Earth, and The Santa Ana Watershed.
Cody Westheimer is a noted film and television composer. A multi-instrumentalist, his love for music started when he began studying piano and brass instruments at the age of eight. A magna cum laude of the music composition program at USC's Thornton School of Music, his gift for thematic writing and creative instrument choices have made him a sought after composer for both studio and independent projects.