Bishop was named after sam bishop, who drove cattle into the area and settled along bishop creek. A couple of the chapters in my 2001 book, the san fernando valley. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. The owens valley indian water commission is an organization involved in protecting the precious waters that sustain all life. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Over the course of the next several years, water that would have previously flowed into owens lake was transported to the southland. Pages contain marginal notes, underlining, and or highlighting. Owens valley residents began to fight the citys water export. The owens valley indian water commission, or oviwc, is one of a growing number of organizations around the world working to protect water resources for current and future generations. Owens valley, then, demonstrates the importance of distributional issues in water trades when the stakes are large. By the 1920s, so much water was diverted from the owens valley that agriculture became difficult.
Bishop by brenden vaughan, pam vaughan and laws railroad. For many people, at least outside the far west, the mention of californias water wars tends to conjure roman polanskis chinatown. Owens valley indian water commission protecting tribal. Possible ex library copy, with all the markingsstickers of that library. They figured out who owned water rights in the lush valley and began quietly purchasing land, posing as. Museum tells story of california water conflict the. News of the explosion came as a shock to most angelenos. But the may 21 bombing signaled an escalation of the conflict to a new, more violent plane. Virtually all the ground water in the owens valley aquifer system is derived from precipitation that falls within the owens valley drainage basin area. Enlisting the secret support of local political and business leaders, without letting owens valley farmers and ranchers, or even angelenos, know what he. There is still insufficient water for a guaranteed supply to owens valley farms. Communities like ours all around the globe are struggling to maintain.
California history section 900 n street room 200 9. An audit revealed that there were shortages in both cash in the vault and amounts shown on the books. As harrington, the county water director, wrote in a 2005 article in the owens valley monitor. This was a war more in legend than in fact, a war of no heroes and of two conflicting populist ideologies. Owens valley has a semiarid to arid climate, with average annual rainfall of about 6 inches 15 centimeters. Thus was i introduced to the owens valley water war. Confrontations escalated to several dynamitings of the aqueduct.
Thousands of feet below in the owens valley, the eastern california museum, which houses an exhibit on a pivotal moment in the states water history, has failed to see an uptick in attendance. It is not the purpose of this work to propose a specific format for the settlement of the citys. Bishop arcadia publishing local and regional history books. True, tensions had been simmering in the owens valley for some time, but until now the trouble hadnt advanced beyond threats, bluster, and inconclusive standoffs. This book, then, is scarcely the last word on the owens valley conflict. Kahrl, a california water expert, has written a brilliant book, by far the best i. Though early construction of the long valley reservoir might have averted a water war, owens valley would eventually have been sacrificed anyway. New environmental and recreational values and air pollution concerns have ushered in demands to curtail the shipment of. The stated purpose of the mou is to resolve the conflict over the lorp and other provisions of ladwps 1991 eir.
Whitney pack trains which operated out of lone pine, ca from the 1940s through the early 1970s. What little agriculture is attempted depends upon shortterm leases that permit the city to withhold the water at any time. In the 1920s, owens valley residents grew angry and frustrated after seeing their farms drained of water, nearly every drop of which. The story of the owens valley water grab is a manytimestold tale. I finally asked the seventhday adventist doctor why. The legacy of owens valley raises concerns about how reallocation can occur. The telling in words and pictures of one of the eastern sierras most incredible mule packing outfits mt.
Owens valley indian water commission home facebook. The water war that polarized 1920s california literary hub. The origins of the owens valleys dust problems date back nearly a century. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading water and power. Indigenous communities are at the forefront of these efforts, continuing our history of stewardship that dates back since time immemorial. Owens valley tragedy university of california, irvine. The owens study area is approximately 1,030 square miles 2,668 square kilometers and includes the owens valley groundwater basin california department of water resources, 2003. For any fair commentary on the ladwp owens valley history, no writer should begin without first reading libecaps owens valley revisited. And in inspiring officials at the state level to press for the construction of still larger delivery systems to benefit california as a whole, the example of the citys aqueduct. By the time soil moisture is depleted, even if pumping stops, the water table may not recover in. Accessories such as cd, codes, toys, and dust jackets may not be. Various tributaries to owens river form from this massive amount of receding water which carry the water down the 80 mile river ending in owens lake. Owens valley indian water commission, bishop, california.
Groundwater quality in the owens valley, california usgs. The owens valley by jane wehrey arcadia publishing books. The story that has emerged here is at once very different and more troubling than the conventional treatments of the conflict as a simplistic political morality play. The history of owens valley towns, pioneering families. University of california press, 9780520050686, 584pp. The greatest good with further development of the valley for agriculture as described earlier, came a rising interest in the natural water supply that fueled american expansion. A feat of engineering and a product of political maneuvering, it nurtured the regions growth while leaving conflict in its wake. A reading and book signing with author rebecca carrer. Groundwater recharge deep infiltration occurs primarily through the alluvial fans as water runs off the sierra nevada as a result of snowmelt or rainfall. The water fight that inspired chinatown the new york times. Rain shadow tells a tale of owens valley sierra wave.
1140 1410 748 554 736 765 1288 481 992 1265 1404 1081 323 779 1516 15 83 470 918 804 1419 117 415 164 1321 682 763 777 1081 1240 823 632 468 304 734 737 1493 97 1241