recreation

It is time again for public comment on the annual grant funding for trail maintenance and operation of facilities for off-highway vehicle (OHV) access in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is applying for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division grant application.

The 30-day grant application comment period begins Tuesday, March 6 and ends Monday, April 2, 2018.

The current blizzard in South Lake Tahoe has postponed another public event. Friday's planned community blood drive has been moved to Saturday, March 10 at the Recreation Swim Complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

The South Lake Tahoe Community Blood Drive will run from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. . Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring this event. Donate blood, get a t-shirt.

Blood Source 916-453-3039
Please bring a photo ID
Eat well and drink plenty of fluids

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved El Dorado County’s Meyers Area Plan, the fifth local area plan approved at Lake Tahoe to implement the 2012 Regional Plan.

With the March 6 South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting slated to have SnowGlobe on the agenda, the Parks and Recreation Commission has called a special meeting in order to prepare a coordinated statement/recommendation to give Council.

The commissioners normally meet the third Thursday of the month but with the annual winter concert on the Council agenda before their next official meeting they wanted to meet to provide their opinion.

They meet at the SLT Recreation Center located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd, South Lake Tahoe. Start time for the special meeting is 3:00 p.m.

Snowmobilers are being asked to move to areas with adequate snow coverage for their activities and to stay away from bare dirt and patchy snow areas.

With the snowpack in the Sierra at very low levels, and in anticipation of a busy holiday weekend, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) are informing snowmobile operators to also not ride across streams or over small trees or brush. Operating snowmobiles on too little snow creates ruts in the soil and crushes vegetation.

We are a diverse group of local South Lake Tahoe residents who are organizing to eliminate or relocate SnowGlobe. This event has unfairly displaced local residents, invaded our homes with noise, closed access to whole neighborhoods, exposed our forests to unnecessary and dangerous potential for fire and attracted visitors who do not reflect the family friendly Lake Tahoe we want to be. We want to bring the experiences of our local community into the light.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is seeking comments on a proposal to reduce excess vegetation on approximately 3,800 acres of National Forest lands on the south end of the Lake Tahoe Basin in order to reduce the risk of wildland fires and create healthier forests.

The question I get asked the most when sharing that I’m a member of PATH (Partners Against the Trafficking of Humans) is: Is human trafficking happening here in South Lake Tahoe? The answer is yes, although solid numbers are hard to come by. Recently, it was reported in local media that 14 people were arrested and one 17 year old girl rescued from a trafficking ring in El Dorado County that included South Lake Tahoe, Placerville, and El Dorado Hills.

For the past week, South Lake Tahoe's homeless have been able to get out of the cold at the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, but come January 1 they will be moving into their new home.

The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless will open their warm room at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd, the City owned property that once housed Unity at the Lake. Their operations will begin at 7:00 p.m. The will be open daily from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. until April 1, 2018.

The rural mountain lifestyle we all enjoy at Lake Tahoe is not isolated from the major urban areas nearby. On a typical holiday weekend, the Tahoe Basin turns into a recreation thoroughfare as tens of thousands of day and overnight visitors who sustain our local economy drive up from the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Reno.

After meeting with the City, Lake Tahoe Unified School District, police, neighbors and other interested parties, the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) is one step closer to opening a warm room for the winter in South Lake Tahoe and could be open by January 1, 2018.

In their annual reorganization, the South Lake Tahoe City Council has voted in a new mayor and mayor pro tem for the year 2018.

Wendy David returns as mayor, a position she held in 2016. She was mayor pro tem during 2017.

Tom Davis returns as vice mayor for the fifth time.

"I want to thank the Council for your support," said Mayor David. "I want to look at how we want to move forward and focus on community conversation. It's what brings us together. Community conversation is the most important thing we'll do next year."

The next board meeting of the Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District (formerly Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District) will be held at the park's clubhouse on Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Included on the agenda is discussion and action on a new director, a name change for the park and other items including interpretive signs, community park projects, a forest thinning project, park host for summer 2018, Music in the Park and way finding signage.

The public is invited.

This opinion piece has been updated.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - To show nature is the best medicine, Barton Health and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) have partnered together to give the community Wellness Outings.

Patients will have access to the forest through a guided outing with a USFS ranger and physician or nurse.

In addition to Wellness Outings, the partnership will provide wellness and injury prevention training for USFS rangers and firefighters, as well as accessibility of public lands to promote outdoor recreation.

Nearly 200 conservation professionals from around the country gathered back east this November to have a strategic dialogue about the state of landscape-scale conservation. Lake Tahoe was featured at the forum for the region’s cooperative restoration initiatives, and it was an honor to share the stage with such high-caliber conservation thought leaders.

The national forum showcased how people of all backgrounds are collaborating and working to conserve some of America’s most iconic natural areas.

In the works since 2010, the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District is now officially a "recreation and park district." Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1023 into law that year, creating an expedited procedure for resort improvement districts to convert into community service districts, and in the case of Tahoe Paradise Park, into the recreation and park district.

That "expedited" procedure has taken almost six years for the Tahoe Paradise district to work out.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) will be wrapping up their two major Lake Tahoe projects for the season over the coming weeks. Crews are working diligently to complete all that they can this construction season before heavy winter weather sets in and makes construction infeasible. Both projects will return with construction next spring.

U.S. 50 Logan Creek Slope Stabilization Project

Meyers, the commercial, public services, and recreation hub of unincorporated El Dorado County at the South Shore may soon have a new area plan.

The Meyers Area Plan is the comprehensive long-term plan for the Meyers Community and, if approved, will replace the original Meyers Community Plan (MCP) adopted in 1993. The MCP currently serves as the comprehensive land use and zoning plan for the community of Meyers, consistent with the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan and the El Dorado County General Plan. It was originally meant to last a decade, not the almost 25 years its been in place.

Those interested in operating the food and beverage concession services at Lakeview Commons at El Dorado Beach Recreation Area in South Lake Tahoe may now submit a proposal.

This process was initiated in 2012 when Lakeview Commons first opened. The City of South Lake Tahoe said they would seek bids by concessionaires for the location every few years.

The National Park Service (NPS) is considering raising fees at their most popular locations during the peak season to pay for overdue and badly needed improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks. This includes roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms, and other visitor services.

The Foundation for Carson City Parks & Recreation (FCCPR), is hosting an Open House at the Wungnema House located in Mills Park, Carson City, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 29, 2017. This is an all ages event, children are welcome, and may come in costume for some old fashioned trick or treating. Parents and children will have an opportunity to learn about this historic home, Native American culture, and the Wungnema family's contributions to the town.

The heartbreaking fires in Northern California’s wine country this month have upended hundreds of thousands of people’s lives. In just over one week, the fires across Northern California burned more than 220,000 acres, destroyed 6,000 buildings, and killed more than 40 people. Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.

If anyone thought they knew how the South Lake Tahoe City Council was going to vote on the proposed Vacation Home Rental (VHR) Ordinance on Tuesday they were most likely surprised with the turn of events after hours of public comment and Council discussion.

City staff had two weeks to create a new Vacation Home Rental Ordinance based on input and bring it to the Council to vote on a first reading October 17.

The City Council has sought to create an ordinance that both recognizes and protects the City's vibrant VHR industry while also improving the quality of life of the citizens.