natural

Nine beautiful West Shore gardens and educational talks on conservation landscaping topics highlight the fifth annual Conservation Landscape Tour, one of the signature events produced by the sustainable landscaping experts with the Tahoe Resource Conservation District. Maps for the tour can be picked up on Sunday, August 19 between 1 and 3 pm at the corner of Wilson and Pine Streets in Tahoma, Calif.

The regional plan cleared a critical hurdle. No fanfare. No high fives. Not even a story in the local press. Yet an unprecedented moment in Lake Tahoe history transpired last week that may shape the Tahoe Basin for decades to come. That moment was the agreement reached by the Bi-State Consultation group, which should serve as the foundation for the new TRPA regional plan.

But first a little history lesson.

Natural forces and human actions have affected the lake's clarity, physics, chemistry and biology since 1968, when UC Davis first began continuous monitoring of Lake Tahoe.
Despite an extreme weather year, overall clarity at Lake Tahoe improved in 2011. Yet underlying trends portray a more complex picture of the Lake Tahoe ecosystem, according to the annual “Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2012,” released today by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

Fishing spots in the Sierra, Lake Tahoe, Northern California and Nevada will be the place to be this week as temperatures will send thousands of anglers to dozens of rivers, lakes and streams in the region. Here is the latest fishing report for the week of August 8-14. Pack plenty of water, sunscreen and don't forget your fishing license.

CARSON CITY — With U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s 5th annual National Clean Energy Summit set to kick off today in Las Vegas, the debate over alternative energy development and the government’s role in its future rages on.

The famed 3,000-acre Royal Gorge property on Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada will be bought and protected from development under an agreement announced today by The Trust for Public Land, the Truckee Donner Land Trust (TDLT), and the Northern Sierra Partnership (NSP).
The agreement is a big change for a property that, as recently as 2007, had been slated for major resort development. That proposal stalled in the face of overwhelming opposition and an unfavorable economic climate – opening the way for conservationists to buy the land when the bank foreclosed on the loan.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Regional Plan Update Committee, received on August 2nd 2012 the California-Nevada Consultation, Regional Plan Update Recommendations presented by Nevada Director of Conservation and Natural Resources, Leo Drozdoff and California Secretary for Natural Resources, John Laird. Following is a 6-minute segment of their remarks compiled from their 30-minute presentation. The segment opens with John Laird speaking about “the plan”— meaning the Tahoe Regional Plan.

The Tahoe Fund is encouraging supporters of Lake Tahoe to break out their croquet whites for a good cause. The environmental non-profit is preparing for its 2nd Annual Founders Circle Summer Dinner, to be held at Edgewood Tahoe’s historic Friday’s Station on Sunday, August 12th. Billed as a night to celebrate the organization’s early funders and the Lake, the event will include “Tahoe Croquet” and a gourmet dinner on the lawn. Senators Feinstein, Heller and Governor Brown have all confirmed their attendance.

The latest podcast interview from Tahoe Project's Michelle Sweeney is with Chuck Scharer, Edgewood Companies chief executive officer.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of July 18-24:

SAND HARBOR, Nev. — Just after dawn on Sunday, with a white moon still visible over mountain-ringed Lake Tahoe, Fred Jackson maneuvered his small boat into clear water about 35 feet deep.
“Hard right — back up,” said his nephew, Justin Pulliam, standing on the edge of the boat and peering at a shadow at the bottom of the lake.
“You got it?” Mr. Jackson asked.

Lake Tahoe Basin residents and visitors are invited to help remove one of Tahoe’s most prolific aquatic invasive weeds, Eurasian watermilfoil, during a community volunteer event at Baldwin Beach on Sunday, July 15.
The project is a partnership of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Preventing the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species is a top priority for all three agencies.

The July 4th Holiday and fireworks celebrations always bring an influx of boaters to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for the 4th of July holiday week, boaters are urged to Clean, Drain and Dry their boats before arriving at one of 5 roadside inspection stations in the Tahoe to avoid delays and decontamination fees.

The initial comment period on the environmental study of the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan Update will close next week at a special two-day meeting of the Governing Board June 27 and 28. However, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is encouraging public input on the draft policy updates now and throughout the summer and fall as the update heads for a final decision by the TRPA Governing Board this December, according to the Agency.
The RPU fact sheet is below.

In the latest audio interview, Michelle Sweeney of the Tahoe Project speaks with Dr. Marion Whitmann, an expert in Asian clams, an invasive species found in Lake Tahoe. The clams don’t have any natural predators in Tahoe and as a result have taken over significant swaths of the lake floor where they cause damage to the ecological system and can sometimes cause economic damage by spurring algae blooms and other effects damaging to Tahoe’s water and beaches.

Douglas County Search and Rescue will soon be holding another training academy and the team is looking for energetic men and women to join the organization.
DCSAR is a volunteer unit within the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. DCSAR responds to assistance calls for lost or injured persons in the mountains, desert, backcountry, and waterways of Douglas and surrounding counties. DCSAR also provides emergency assistance during natural disasters and large public safety emergencies.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has announced that Liberty Utilities, its regulated distribution utility business, received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to acquire 100 percent of the regulated electricity distribution business in and around South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

The 2nd Annual Adventure Sports Week Tahoe, scheduled for Friday, June 15 through Sunday, June 24, will offer a series of mountain biking events in addition to its other outdoor sporting competitions, clinics taught by professionals, live musical concerts and family-friendly activities.

What do you get when you jam twelve community leaders in a small van and send them on the road for three days? In addition to lots of laughs and too many unanswered texts, this merry van of road warriors got a collective awakening to the positive power of change. The road trip, sponsored by www.Tahoechamber.org, was an eye-opening view of how other communities solved what seemed insurmountable problems and, in doing so, prospered.

On Tuesday Venus will pass across the face of the sun, producing a silhouette that no one alive today will likely see again. See the latest Youtube clip from NASA's SOHO spacecraft below.

Transits of Venus are very rare, coming in pairs separated by more than a hundred years. This June's transit, the bookend of a 2004-2012 pair, won't be repeated until the year 2117. Fortunately, the event is widely visible. Observers on seven continents, even a sliver of Antarctica, will be in position to see it.

A leading Lake Tahoe scientist who has studied invasive species and limnology for 20 years, said issuing permits for commercial harvesting of crayfish at Lake Tahoe will help improve clarity at the pristine lake, as well as take away a food source for other invasive species that threaten clarity and ecosystems.

In a milestone for the organization, Amy R. Berry was appointed to the new position of CEO of the Tahoe Fund on Wednesday. The official announcement is a major shift forward for the organization and its mission to raise private and public funding for environmental projects in Lake Tahoe.

A group of South Tahoe High School students joined Edgewood employees, conservation experts and officials on May 19 to plant new nursery grown stems of the threatened plant, Tahoe yellow cress on the beach at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. Edgewood Companies is participating in a volunteer program called the Tahoe Yellow Cress Stewardship Program and has been assisting with inventory surveys as far back as 1979.

Go birding with an expert. Kirk Hardie, Co-Executive Director of the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science will lead a bird-watching walk on Saturday, June 16, 2012 (8 – 10 am, $5 donation suggested), beginning at the UC Davis Tahoe City Field Station. Bringing binoculars is recommended.