Losing water at Little Lake

The sun rising over the Coso Mountains creates a tranquil view that the Little Lake Ranch members cherish. The eastern Sierras can been seen in the background.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Little Lake Ranch member Chuck Brill, a commercial real estate broker, loves to row around the lake at sunrise, accompanied by his yellow lab, Stitch. “It’s a David and Goliath situation,” Brill said about Inyo County’s geothermal plan. “It’s money and energy versus the environment.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The sun lights up the eastern Sierras, contrasting with the rock formations on Little Lake Ranch in Inyo County. Little Lake is a popular resting and feeding site for migratory waterfowl along the eastern Sierra flyway. A hunting club there, made up mostly of Southern California doctors, lawyers and business owners, contends that pumping for a geothermal plant would cause irreversible damage to the fragile Owens Valley ecology.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Waterfowl like this green heron landing in the cattails are part of a sensitive ecosystem that Little Lake Ranch members worry could be harmed or lost if water is pumped for a geothermal plant.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A canvasback duck takes flight from the lake at sunset, part of the sensitive ecosystem that Little Lake Ranch members worry could be endangered by pumping water for a geothermal plant.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Wildlife sightings like this one of a coyote are precious to Little Lake Ranch members.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Little Lake Ranch member Chuck Brill points out ducks flying overhead to his yellow Labrador, Stitch, as they boat among the cattails at Little Lake Ranch. “It’s a David and Goliath situation,” Brill said of the possible approval of a geothermal plant that would pump water from the lake’s aquifer. “It’s money and energy versus the environment.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A chucker game bird hangs out in the rocks, part of the Little Lake ecosystem.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Cinnamon teal ducks take flight from Little Lake, a popular resting and feeding site for migratory waterfowl along the eastern Sierra flyway.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Little Lake Ranch members Fred Lovell, far left, and Rich Dimino relax by the fire with ranch manager Dan Tolbert and club attorney Gary Arnold in the club’s ranch house.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Lilo, left, and Stitch, Little Lake Ranch member Chuck Brill’s yellow labs, are captivated by mounted mallard ducks at the Little Lake Ranch clubhouse. The dogs accompany Brill on a rowboat during the three-month hunting season on Little Lake. During the rest of the year, members enjoy family outings and Boy Scout camp-outs, and host museum and archeological tour groups interested in the ancient Indian petroglyphs and pictographs in the area.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A sign hints at the atmosphere that Little Lake Ranch members enjoy.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A view of Little Lake from club members’ ranch house porch, far from the frenzy of life in Los Angeles.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Ancient Native American petroglyphs depicting bighorn sheep and a shaman are chiseled into basalt rock. The petroglyphs overlook Little Lake and its club of mostly Los Angeles-area doctors, lawyers and businessmen, Little Lake Ranch. Members are worried about the possible environmental effects of pumping water from the lake for a geothermal plant in Inyo County.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Little Lake Ranch member Chuck Brill plays with his yellow labs, Lilo and Stitch, at sunrise at Little Lake Ranch. The dogs accompany Brill on rowboats during the three-month hunting season on Little Lake.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)