California Copes with Worsening Drought

Dropping water levels at Mono Lake through drought and water extraction by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) threaten to create a land bridge allowIng predators like coyotes to reach and decimate critical island nest sites of California gulls and other birds on July 16, 2021 near Lee Vining, California. 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.