California Copes with Worsening Drought

Ospreys exchange nest duties on a tufa tower, calcium carbonate formations that grow in carbonate-rich saltwater lakes, at Mono Lake on July 17, 2021 near Lee Vining, California. Although Mono Lake is too alkaline to support fish, ospreys, or "fish eagles", nest on the tufa towers and fish in other waters. Mono Lake is a critical stopover site for millions of migratory birds like the phalaropes. In 1941, the DWP began diverting water that feeds the lake and sending it to Los Angeles, 350 miles away. Dust blowing from the exposed lake bottom became the largest source of PM-10 particulate air pollution in the United States. Authorities are bracing for a predicted driest year on record for the Kern River, carrying only about a quarter of the average Sierra snowmelt water to Lake Isabella. Large portion of the West are now in the most extreme drought category and fire officials are warning of another devastating wildfire season in California.