Friends of the Inyo: Eastern Sierra Wilderness Stewardship Project

Abstract

Friends of the Inyo is a non-profit, conservation organization dedicated to preserving public lands and wildlife of the Eastern Sierra. First founded in 1986, Friends of the Inyo hired its first staff person in 2000. Today, the organization enjoys a vibrant and growing membership of 500 individuals and employs three people-Executive Director, Paul McFarland (the organization’s first staff person), Wilderness Stewardship Coordinator, Jamie Anderson, and Bookkeeper, Darren Jones. Together, they carry out a diverse program of monitoring, education, and natural history interpretation on the public lands of Inyo and Mono Counties, California. Over the last five years, Friends of the Inyo has led over 500 people, from locals to folks from South Africa and Denmark, on nearly 125 publicly noticed, free natural history outings and wilderness stewardship hikes; organized numerous Clean-up Days in and around locally popular recreation areas; and published numerous interpretive brochures in order to acquaint people with the stories of resident plants, animals, and rocks. The organization has also spent considerable time working to ensure that the public land management agencies-the Inyo National Forest and Bishop Field Office of the BLM—have sufficient resources to carry out their duties.

Parent Publication

• Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eighth World Wilderness Congress symposium

Citation

McFarland, Paul; Anderson, Jamie. 2007. Friends of the Inyo: Eastern Sierra Wilderness Stewardship Project. In: Watson, Alan; Sproull, Janet; Dean, Liese, comps. Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eighth World Wilderness Congress symposium; September 30-October 6, 2005; Anchorage, AK. Proceedings RMRS-P-49. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 96-97