Restoration of Upper Truckee Marsh completed in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For the last three years the California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) has been working on restoring the 1,600-acre Upper Truckee Marsh in South Lake Tahoe. After years of damage caused by development and moves made by ranchers, the river lost its natural meandering flow and has been just one straight channel of water. Now, the work of the Conservancy has completed the steps needed to re-create the wetland with new channels, the filling in of a sailing lagoon, and new willows and other vegetation planted.

Work not only created a flood plain, but the area is also now open to Mother Nature's annual plan whether it's a wet or dry year.

The project also included a new trail that provides improved access for all to experience and enjoy the Lake’s shoreline. It is made with an ADA mat and natural decomposed granite so it is wheelchair accessible, taking people from the end of Venice Drive to what is known as Cove East.

20th-century development was not the only cause of the poor marsh condition, but also ranchers decades ago who would push water to the western side of the marsh so the eastern side could dry out for cattle.

The natural state of the marsh should be wet and muddy in spring as the snow runoff heads to Lake Tahoe and be an area where an overflowing river can take on excess water. A healthy marsh needs water, something that has been lacking for years as the river was diverted and straightened. These new wetlands will provide critical wildlife habitat and filter pollutants before entering Lake Tahoe.

In order to even get to this point, the Conservancy started buying marshland to prevent further destruction and prepare for the recently completed project. The League to Save Lake Tahoe also had to be involved in litigation to prevent the expansion of the Tahoe Keys. The Conservancy bought land as part of those early agreements.

The Conservancy and its partners moved the boulders that had been placed to block channels so the old three-acre sailing lagoon on the east end of the Tahoe Keys could exist, and a planned condominium project could be built. Work included burying the invasive plants that had taken hold there under two feet of material, then filling in with dirt, and plugs of plants were added. Willows will take hold again as they grow quickly and have strong roots - the rebar of Mother Nature. Songbirds also love willows and the wetter wetland, and several more plants and the wildlife they attract are now calling the marsh home.

A dirt berm that had been added by the Tahoe Keys developer was removed, but some of it remained until August as it helped protect the plants in the old lagoon as the vegetation took hold and that berm was completely removed in August. The postponement of the berm removal also allowed the Willow Fly Catcher to complete its nesting season. Completion of the project may be the wrong words as restoration projects never really end and work will continue in the coming years to establish new wetland plants, monitor the project area, and maintain the restoration elements and new trail.

The twelve acres of new wetlands have replaced an area that developers dredged and filled in the 1950s and 60s for a never-completed condominium complex. During high flows, the river will spread out over 70,000 new wetland plants. In all, 200 acres had been left to dry out when developers straightened the river decades ago, and they have all been restored.

Crews removed 700 lodgepoles from the marsh, many of which were reused elsewhere. In the first stage twenty years ago, 8,000 dump truck loads of dirt were moved to Washoe Meadows State Park as plans for the river and tributaries started to be formed. The dirt was made of decomposed granite that had been put in there by development.

The Conservancy expects to return in the future for further restoration across the 560 acres of wetlands that make up the Marsh. The Conservancy and its partners also continue to advance complementary restoration projects upstream along the Upper Truckee River, which is the largest tributary to Lake Tahoe.

The Conservancy said they are grateful to its funding and project partners. Funders include the California Wildlife Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the U.S. Geologic Survey. Other key partners include the California Department of General Services, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Meyers Earthwork Inc., Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Inc., Western Botanical Services Inc., Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Tahoe Resource Conservation District.