Existing comment:
Waterfowl on the Edge:
Mono Lake once provided habitat for huge concentrations of ducks, geese, and swans during their fall migrations. According to a 1948 California Department of Fish and Game survey, approximately one million ducks were seen at Mono Lake on a single day. As freshwater continued to be diverted from streams feeding Mono Lake, waterfowl populations drastically declined, due to loss of habitat and the increased salinity of the lake. Although waterfowl populations have declined substantially everywhere, the decline here at Mono Lake is so severe that fewer than 13,500 ducks now visit annually, a lost of 98%. |