Dust Buster

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. Water fro the Los Angeles aqueduct gushes out of the pipes to fill the dry lakebed. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. A flock of American avocets. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. A front yard art in Keeler, California. A small town bordering Owen's Lake, it was once a bustling mining and railroad town of 2,000. Now around 50 residents live there. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. Owens River water flows into lake wetlands. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. California Gulls lounging around a sprinkler head in the south end of Owen's Lake. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. An American avocet and western sandpipers along the shore of Owen's Lake. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. LADWP water pumps in the Owens Lake dust control project. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. Keeler, California use to be bustling mining and railroad town of 2,000. Now around 50 residents live there. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. Owens Lake, at the base of the Inyo Mountains, covers nearly 100 square miles. The lakebed is crisscrossed by a grid of driveable dikes that hide hundreds of miles of pipeline. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

DUST BUSTERA remote California lake, turned into a near wasteland by a long-ago water grab, is reconstructed on the strength of an unusual cooperative effort. Among the beneficiaries: thousands of migrating birds. A pair of eared grebes. Photo: Photograph by Rosalie Winard

Related Features

A New Documentary About a Hummingbird Rehabber Peeks At Life on a Different Scale

A person looks up at a hummingbird perched on a wire in a mesh enclosure.

A New Documentary About a Hummingbird Rehabber Peeks At Life on a Different Scale

News

Where Do Hummingbirds Go in the Winter?

Where Do Hummingbirds Go in the Winter?

News

Our Favorite Fascinating Bird Behaviors From the 2024 Audubon Photo Awards

Our Favorite Fascinating Bird Behaviors From the 2024 Audubon Photo Awards

Audubon Photography Awards

Titmice Galore and a Red-tailed Record: Tallying Central Park's 125th Christmas Bird Count

A group of people with winter coats and binoculars in an urban park, looking up.

Titmice Galore and a Red-tailed Record: Tallying Central Park's 125th Christmas Bird Count

News

Explore More Photography

Beach Birds

Black Skimmer

Beach Birds

Slideshow

Midway: Message from the Gyre

Midway: Message from the Gyre

Climate Change Hits Home

Climate Change Hits Home

6 Award-Winning Aerials

6 Award-Winning Aerials

News

Get Audubon in Your Inbox

Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.