Volunteer with the Inyo County Water Department

The Inyo County Water Department, located in Bishop, CA, monitors the (mostly native) vegetation of the Owens Valley and studies the effects of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's water gathering activities on the vegetation.  Results of our monitoring and studies feed back into annual groundwater management plans for the valley.

    It is now possible for the County to enlist volunteers.  Opportunities exist for volunteers to assist in field monitoring efforts during the field season, May through August.  In particular, we would welcome persons interested in assisting with our long term vegetation re-inventory program.  The work entails approximately 7 hours of field work, beginning early in the morning, weekdays only.  Volunteers would be paired with a staff member and would assist in running  simple vegetation transects.  You would learn how to navigate and collect data using GPS, brush up on plant identification skills, and see parts of the Owens Valley very few people visit.

    More limited opportunities exist for assisting with other field monitoring efforts.  Also, some office projects may be available.  All scheduling andassignments are flexible.  Some paper work is required before work may begin.

If interested, please contact Sally Manning,

Vegetation Scientist, Inyo County Water Department,

163 May St., Bishop, CA  93514 (760) 872-1168

or email Sally to volunteer