Artist Topah Spoonhunter will be giving a talk about his new exhibit, currently being displayed on Manzanar’s gallery wall, on Saturday December 7, 2019 at 11 a.m. The talk will be followed by a Q&A. Topah’s pieces explore themes of Indigenous existence in Payahüünadü (the land of flowing water), what is now known as the Owens Valley. This event is free and open to the public. Artist Topah Spoonhunter’s exhibit will run until January 31, 2020. Topah Spoonhunter is an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and grew up on the Big Pine Paiute Reservation in Big Pine, California. With a formal education in business, his professional career has included work for non-profit organizations, local government, and various tribal governments. He is a self-taught artist and designer who is [...]

It’s difficult to believe it has been a year since Gary passed.  We miss him dearly and remember his friendship, love for family and professionalism.  In an email last April, those of us working on the Gary Barnett Memorial Tahoe National Forest Portal Sign Project gave a brief update on the progress of the sign. We are finally at the point where we can request donations for the portal sign at the westbound I-80 boundary of the Tahoe National Forest.  This project was very important to Gary.  His brother Greg Barnett recently sent the following note about Gary’s wish to complete the portal sign: "Gary spent thirty-five years working with the Forest Service, on the Klamath, Eldorado, and Tahoe National Forests and took immense pride in its traditions and history.  [...]

Topah Spoonhunter is an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho tribe and grew up on the Big Pine Paiute Reservation in Big Pine, CA. His professional career has included work for non-profit organizations, local government, and various tribal governments. He is a self-taught artist and designer. Topah's work is now on display at Manzanar National Historic Site. His pieces explore themes of Indigenous existence in Payahüünadü (the land of flowing water), what is now known as the Owens Valley. November 17, 2019 - January 31, 2020 Manzanar National Historic Site Visitor Center This program is free and open to the public. For more information, call 760-878-2194 ext. 3310, or visit www.nps.gov/manz or www.facebook.com/ManzanarNationalHistoricSite.

Welcome to the Fall 2019 issue of The Interpreter, the second edition of the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association's (ESIA) quarterly newsletter. This quarter we recap our busy summer programs and events, look forward to fall programs and events, and resurrect our Sierra Partner Membership Program. Summer recap: Campfire programs Mono Lake Patio Talks Mono Lake's South Tufa Tours Eastern Sierra Book Festival Mammoth Lakes Library Storytime Mammoth Lakes Kids Corner Preschool 5th Annual Eastern Sierra Youth Outdoor (ESYO) stewardship program 6th Annual Arborglyph Extravaganza stewardship program Coming this Fall: Inyo County School programs Mono County Library programs SnowSchool Winter Adventure Series Authors and Artists Series 4th Annual Eastern Sierra History Conference Mountainfilm on Tour As an ESIA member, we know you love the Sierra Nevada as much as we do, and [...]

Manzanar National Historic Site will host author Stephanie Morrill on Sunday, October 20, 2019. Morrill will be discussing her new book, Within These Lines. This event is free and open to the public. The book talk will be held in the west theater of the Manzanar Visitor Center from 11 a.m. to noon and will include a Q&A portion. After the talk, Morrill will be signing books in the Manzanar bookstore. This young adult historical fiction novel explores the World War II era relationship between an Italian American girl, Evalina Cassano, and a Japanese American boy named Taichi Hamasaki. The pair begin a relationship prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After Executive Order 9066 is passed, Taichi and his family, along with other west coast residents of Japanese ancestry, [...]

Hosts Stacey Adler and Christopher Platt deliver a high altitude dose of ABC's - Adventure, Books, and Conversation on The Oxygen Starved Podcast. This episode features Molly Trauscht, ESIA Program Operations Manager, as the featured guest in the Conversation section of the podcast. Molly highlights the upcoming Eastern Sierra History Conference, October 25-27, year-round programs including summer programs for visitors and winter programs for local schools, and the partners we work with to educate the public, of all ages. Listen to the podcast.

Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (ESIA) is pleased to announce that Wils Cain has joined the team as Communications and Membership Manager. In this role he will be responsible for promoting the interpretive programs that forge strong emotional and intellectual bonds between visitors and residents of the unique surrounding landscape of the Sierra Nevada. In addition, Wils will be responsible for driving ESIA’s membership program, fundraising events, volunteer programs, and contributing to the interpretive programs that educate and inspire our public land visitors. Molly Trauscht, who previously held this role, has taken on a new and expanded role of Program Operations Manager where she will focus her efforts on overseeing all educational programs and events. As the official non-profit partner with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. National Park Service, and the [...]

We are very pleased to announce that Molly Trauscht has joined our team at the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association as the Communications & Membership Manager. In this role she will be responsible for promoting the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association’s mission, to "educate and inspire people about Eastern Sierra public lands through high quality interpretive products, exhibits, and programs", through her assistance with the interpretive programs and social media platforms. Additionally, Molly will be leading the member donor campaign. As a non-profit partner with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. National Park Service, the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association through its’ educational programs help build a strong connection between the public and the Sierra Nevada.Our member donor campaign is critical in providing the means to continue our mission, fund educational and interpretive [...]

EASTERN SIERRA INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION TO SUPPORT LIMITED VISITOR SERVICES AT MANZANAR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE Manzanar National Historic Site's non-profit partner Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (ESIA) has generously donated funds to the National Park Service to allow a limited reopening of the Manzanar Visitor Center and Block 14 exhibits. "As Americans we can’t forget about the 800,000 Federal employees personally affected by the Federal government shutdown. We must also realize the communities in which those Federal employees work are experiencing tremendous financial impacts as well," said Jeff Gabriel, executive director for ESIA.  Jeff added, "When the chance for us to help our Federal agency partner during the Federal government shutdown to open for a very limited time Manzanar we were more than willing to help." Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association's mission is [...]

EASTERN SIERRA INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION TO SUPPORT LIMITED VISITOR SERVICES AT MAMMOTH LAKES AND EASTERN SIERRA INTERAGENCY VISITOR CENTERS Inyo National Forest's non-profit partner Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (ESIA) will operate the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center and Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center bookstores and provide general information to the visiting public for this coming weekend and the following weekend. "As Americans we can't forget about the 800,000 Federal employees personally affected by the Federal government shutdown. We must also realize the communities in which those Federal employees work are experiencing tremendous financial impacts as well," said Jeff Gabriel, executive director for ESIA. Jeff added, "When the chance for us to help our Federal agency partner during the Federal government shutdown to open the bookstores for a limited time,we were more than [...]