You Are the Ranger: Protecting the Eastern Sierra During the Shutdown The Eastern Sierra's wild places remain open during the shutdown, but with many of our visitor centers and ranger stations closed during the ongoing government shutdown and most Forest Service, BLM and NPS staff furloughed,  there are far fewer people to care for them.  This government shutdown has just become the longest shutdown in American history and our public lands are suffering from it.  This means it’s up to all of us to step into the role of steward and caretaker for these incredible landscapes. Every trail hiked, rock climbed, campsite visited, or lake fished comes with a shared responsibility to protect this place we all love. The absence of agency staff doesn’t mean the work of caring for [...]

Let’s talk about one of our favorite subjects, bears!  Maybe you’ve seen our bear info pop-up around Mammoth this month - we’ll be out and about in September as well, check out our events calendar to see the schedule. The Eastern Sierra is home to the American Black Bear, which is one of the eight species of bears in the world.  Despite the name, black bears can range in color from light blonde to dark, with many of the bears in the Sierra tending to be more cinnamon and brown in color. Black bears are large and powerful mammals, with females (called sows) generally weighing between 100 - 300 pounds and males (boars)weighing between 150 - 400 pounds.  However, it isn’t unusual for large males to top over 500 pounds. [...]

It's August and that means the trails in the High Sierra have come alive with color as wildflowers bloom along the trails.  Not only beautiful, these wildflower gardens are a striking reminder of the region's resilience and biodiversity.  Look closely at the flowers and you are likely to see a wide range of pollinators buzzing about the flowers. We put together this guide of some of the common flowers you'll find out on High Sierra trails right now.  Interested in learning more?  Join one of our Wildflower Walks this summer in Little Lakes Valley and Tahoe Meadows.   Sierra Columbine (Aquilegia pubescens) This showy cream to yellow flower is typically found in open, rocky slopes between 8,000 - 12,000 feet in elevation.  It is endemic to the Eastern Sierra, meaning [...]

It's been a busy start to the summer season here at Sierra Forever! Our campfire talks are happening almost every Friday and Saturday at campgrounds up and down the Eastern Sierra, and we have a variety of interpretive hikes on the calendar to choose from. Read all about these, plus our recent stewardship events and upcoming events in our July Newsletter: Click here to get started! Not on our mailing list? Sign up HERE to get our monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox!

Our Campfire Program Talks are back at campsites up and down the US 395 corridor! Our Interpretive Hikes are many and varied! The Bishop Climbing Rangers totally rocked the 2024/2025 season and have an exciting report to share their accomplishments with the community! We're still taking suggestions for Eastern Sierra History Conference presentations through June 27! Like what Sierra Forever has been doing? Well, we'd love to tell you about an opportunity to come to our corner--as in our Member Corner! But if you don't read about it in our E-Newsletter, you'll never know. Click here to get started!

For their end-of-season wrap-up report, Sierra Forever's Bishop Climbing Rangers, Casey Fellhoelter and Kara Flowers, who work from October through May, presented an impressive accounting of the program's accomplishments on Thursday, May 15, to a dozen representatives from the Bishop Paiute Tribe, County of Inyo, Inyo National Forest, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Bishop Area Climbers Coalition, Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Inyo, and fellow Sierra Forever staff. Both Kara and Casey are two-season veterans of the program, having started with Sierra Forever in 2023. Here is a by-the-numbers snapshot of what they did for much loved climbing areas in public lands around Bishop in 2024/2025: Led 10 volunteer projects that engaged 230 volunteers who donated 517 volunteer hours that are valued at close to [...]

Today, we say "Job Well Done!" to our Bishop Climbing Rangers, the Dynamic Duo of Kara Flowers and Casey Fellhoelter, as they diligently provide this season's final Climbing Conditions Report for May 8 - 11, to help everyone prepare for an upcoming weekend of climbing fun and safety around Bishop. Happy reading! Conditions Report After a week of cooler temps, it’s officially that time of year when you start questioning if your chalk bag is just a convection oven. Swimming season is here, go jump in the water 💦 🥵 🤿 Patrols through the Bishop climbing areas are starting to make us crisp up at the edges. With highs nearing 90°F this weekend, it’s going to be hot hot hot. This heat also means an end to the Bishop Climbing [...]

Well, those April showers are bringing us... more May showers. Its lookin' like another wet weekend in Payahuunadu! For an area that sees ~300 days of sunshine a year, we shouldn't complain! The wildflowers, fairy shrimp, and amphibians of the high desert are living it up! While a rainy-day jaunt out in the beautiful Eastern Sierra is always worthwhile, don't expect to get much rock wrastlin' in. If you decide to get out, the wildflowers are poppin', the crowds are gone, and you just might be treated to just enough of a weather window to pull down on some stone. If not, our friends at @sagetosummit have some fine plastic to stay fit on. As usual for this time of year, rattlesnakes are very active in Buttermilk Country, the Volcanic [...]