How the Drought is Shrinking Southern California Mountain Lakes

There was a blue heron a few yards away from the Big Bear Marina. Mallards played in the water near the marina’s office.“This is pretty sad looking,” said Scott Ruppel, 60, as he sat in front of the marina office on a recent weekday morning. A frequent lake visitor, Ruppel, a Barstow resident, talked about the grass and other plant life — some green, some not — growing on land once covered by a 3,000 acre lake.