“Owens Lake was the largest emitter of dust from one place in the United States…It [Owens Lake] disappeared in the mid-1920s. The water didn’t come on for the dust project until 2001. For nearly eighty years, the people up here–families, everyone, the wildlife–they were choking on dust.” –Mike Prather, environmentalist and conservationist in the Owens Valley/Payahuunadü

Join us for this special edition of Talking Water, featuring our guest Mike Prather. Mike is an environmental activist and conservationist who has advocated for returning water to Owens Lake/Patsiata and the Lower Owens River. He shares his personal story about fighting for the things you love. For Mike, his love has been the unique and majestic natural beauty of Owens Valley/Payahuunadü where he has lived for nearly 45 years.

Mike was instrumental in forming the Owens Valley Committee which was heavily involved in rectifying damages done by Los Angeles to the valley’s water supply and ecosystem. Mike recalls a time when the once massive Owens Lake/Patsiata was completely dry and a health hazard for residents because of alkaline dust. Mike remembers the first moments of water being added to the lake again as a dust control measure. He shares the awe of seeing thousands of shorebirds return to the lake as the waters return. Mike offers listeners a vantage point into a life of defending the sacred–the inspiration, the successes, and the trials.

Mike Prather
Mike has lived in Inyo County since 1972, starting in Death Valley National Park (then Death Valley National Monument) in the 1970s, and later in Lone Pine in 1980. “My focus has been on the desert, as well as the Sierra, with particular interests in water and wildlife issues. For many years, I worked on passage of the California Desert Protection Act and the Inyo/Los Angeles Water Agreement with its Lower Owens River Project. Currently much of my energy is directed toward the massive wildlife return associated with the Los Angeles Owens Lake Dust Project, and also possible increased protection of the Alabama Hills through a federal designation within the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System. My interests within Friends of the Inyo are seeking sustainability, increasing diversity and spreading FOI’s good works into the southern Owens Valley.”

Hosted by: Kate Bunney

Produced & Edited by: Anne Carol Mitchell

Intro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter Strauss

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