Mono Lake, Brewer & the Public Trust, 43" H x 50" W
Embroidery on silk of William Brewer's 1863 journal describing Mono Lake, the 1983 California Supreme Court decision, and prediversion, target and current lake levels.

Text embroidered around the lake: July 9 we came on about ten miles north over the plain and camped at the northwest corner of Lake Mono. This is the most remarkable lake I have ever seen. It lies in a basin at the height of 6,800 feet above the sea… There are hot springs in it, which feed it with peculiar mineral salts... On July 10, luckily, a man was going to the islands in the lake and invited us to go with him… He dug out a neat canoe from a tree, and in the spring hired two Indians to help him collect eggs. At 3 P.M. we started; we had but little wind, and that in fitful puffs, so we did not arrive until nearly dark. There is fresh water in only one spot, on the larger island, in a little swamp and patch of tule a few rods in extent; here we camped and slept on the soft grass. July 11 we were up at dawn, a clear, calm morning. Clouds of gulls screamed around us. These islands are entirely volcanic, and in one place the action can hardly be said to have ceased, for there are hundreds of hot springs over a surface of many acres. Steam and hot gases issue from fissures in the rocks, and one can hear the boiling and gurgling far beneath. We sailed back to camp, stopping on the north shore, where some Indians (Pah-Utes) were gathering koochahbee… Along this shore many curious rocks stand up from the water, of lime tufa, made by springs in former times. They are of very fantastic shapes, often worn by the water into the form of huge mushrooms, ten to twenty feet high… We got letters but, much to our disgust and disappointment, no money, and we have not enough for actual wants. We also got late and brilliant news from the armies. In the mountains we heard of the invasion of Pennsylvania. Here we heard that Lee’s army is whipped, that Vicksburg is ours, and that gold is falling.
-Up & Down California in 1860-1864, The Journal of William H Brewer
Text around the edge: The principal values plaintiffs seek to protect are recreation and ecological – the scenic views of Mono Lake and its shore, the purity of the air, and the use of the lake for nesting and feeding by birds. It is clear that protection of these values is among the purposes of the public trust. California Supreme Court, 1983
Visit The Mono Lake Committee for more information.