restoration

On Saturday, June 4, 2016, the Sierra State Parks Foundation is proud to host the second annual fundraising gala “A Night at the Museum: Celebrating the Pioneer Experience”. This “country elegant” evening will kick off the fundraising efforts to restore the 98 year-old Donner Pioneer Monument. Starting at 6:00 p.m., guests will enjoy a night filled with live music, costumed period actors, unique food, and our signature “Not-So-Silent Auction”.

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A three-month long tree removal project off of Fallen Leaf Lake Road near the campground will start around May 15, 2016. Due to the heavy equipment needed, the Forest Service will issue a forest order closing the project area (units 1 and 148) to pedestrians from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily.

The U.S. Forest Service and California Tahoe Conservancy will be finishing their fourth and final year of creating a new channel for the Upper Truckee River near the South Lake Tahoe airport. To accomplish their final tasks, the meadow and river will be closed to the public for much of the summer in order to divert the water into the new channel, relocate fish and mussels, and finish up vegetation projects.

Federal activities at Lake Tahoe are the topic of the next Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee (LTFAC) meeting on Thursday, April 14, 2016, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Nonprofit Community Center, Meiling Training Room, 948 Incline Way, Incline Village, NV 89450.

On Thursday, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board awarded more than $7 million for seven watershed restoration and forest health projects around the lake. Thirteen different applicants submitted 32 grant requests totaling $30 million, but with just $13,950,000 to give out, it was a very competitive process.

The money comes from Proposition 1, the $7.545 billion water bond approved overwhelmingly by California voters in November 2014. It was divided around the state to agencies like the Conservancy for water supply infrastructure projects.

Over the past eight building seasons, a bi-state collaborative effort of the South Tahoe Public Utility District, U.S. Forest Service and the other area water agencies has enhanced the Lake Tahoe Basin's water infrastructure to better fight wildfires.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is accepting nominations for Lake Spirit Awards to honor real people making real progress protecting Lake Tahoe. Members of the public are encouraged to nominate exemplary members of the community who are going above and beyond the call of duty to protect the beauty and clarity of the Lake.

The Knights Inn could be purchased by the City of South Lake Tahoe for $6 million should a grant be awarded them by the California Tahoe Conservancy. If that happens, the City would purchase, and then demolish, the motel located on Highway 50 near Ski Run Boulevard to make way for a new environmental and retail project.

There is grant money available through the CTC which the City will apply for. The funds come from the state's Proposition 1 Water Bond which was approved by voters in 2014 to authorize $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for water projects.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday.

The legislation, created alongside senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Harry Reid, D-Nevada and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., provides federal, state, and local partners important tools to reduce wildfire threats, improve water clarity, jumpstart innovative infrastructure projects, and combat invasive species.

After decades of planning, analysis, and public input, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board recently approved the final plan to restore the largest remaining wetland in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The Upper Truckee River and Marsh Restoration Project will restore over 500 acres of highly disturbed wetland habitat, improving the natural filtration capacity of the Marsh and reducing a major source of fine sediment that clouds Tahoe’s famed lake clarity.

A new website puts comprehensive information about the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program at everyone’s fingertips, allowing people to easily learn more about “Lake-Saving Projects” completed in their own neighborhoods and all around Lake Tahoe.

The new Environmental Improvement Program Project Tracker is online at www.conservationclearly.org/tracker.

With predictions for one of the biggest winters in over a decade, now is the time to buy a Lake Tahoe license plate so you can ski for free in Tahoe. The popular “Plates for Powder” program is back, and once again offers individuals who purchase a new Lake Tahoe license plate in either California or Nevada two free lift tickets to one of 12 Tahoe resorts participating in the program.

A ground breaking ceremony at Edgewood Tahoe brought out community and political leaders, all wanting the celebrate their new project, the Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe.

Rain brought the ceremony indoors, but spirits weren't dampened as people speaking at the ceremony highlighted the major impacts the new project on the state line will make on South Shore's economic and community revitalization, as well as important environmental and recreational enhancements in the area.

A South Lake Tahoe motel is being rebuilt after an early morning fire swept through it, displacing the 35 tourists who were staying there and forcing the business to close because of the damage. Its been 14 months since fire destroyed much of the Deerfield Lodge on Ski Run Blvd, the cause of which is still undetermined according to Chief Gareth Harris of Lake Valley Fire Department who was the investigator on the fire.

Join the League to Save Lake Tahoe for a day of planting, weed pulling, and other restoration activities to preserve and protect Lake Tahoe's watershed during the
18th annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on September 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This year they will be taking care of the Upper Truckee River. All volunteers need to meet at the corner of Barbara Ave. and Lodi Ave in South Lake Tahoe for a shuttle ride to restoration site.

Bring your reusable water bottle, wear clothes that are comfortable that you can get dirty in, and bring your friends.

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Lawmakers from Nevada and California met Monday on the shores of Lake Tahoe to discuss how to protect a national treasure as it faces continued threats to water clarity, invasive species, wildfire and drought.

Ever since President Bill Clinton held the first meeting in South Lake Tahoe in 1997, the annual focus of the Lake Tahoe Summit is to protect what Mark Twain called "the fairest picture the whole world affords."

An updated Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be presented to the public during the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit on Monday, August 24, 2015. This new Community Wildfire Protection Plan was collaboratively developed by the 18 member organizations of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) and is the culmination of a three-year planning effort.

History shows time and time again our greatest accomplishments at Lake Tahoe are achieved when people work together. In the past, Tahoe was known as a place where unproductive interactions between stakeholders led to a stunning decay in our environment and our economic vitality, creating a region that seemed frozen in time.

We face major environmental challenges at Tahoe, including the uncertainties of climate change. And as Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

This week, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency voiced its strong support for legislation to reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act that has been introduced in Congress by Tahoe’s Senate delegation.

Sponsored by U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-Nevada) along with Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), and Barbara Boxer (D-California), the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act would authorize up to $415 million in federal funding over 10 years to help continue critical environmental restoration work at Lake Tahoe.

We face some big, daunting environmental restoration challenges here at Lake Tahoe. But helping our environment every day can be as simple as riding a bike, walking, or taking transit. And the hundreds of people who participated in the Tahoe Bike Challenge this June, including many of our employees at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are showing how big of an impact our individual actions can have.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lake Tahoe Sustainable Communities Program are hosting the Tahoe Region’s first-ever sustainability summit June 22-23 at The Hyatt in Incline Village.

Called Connections 2015, the summit is all about building more resilient and sustainable communities by strengthening mountain-urban partnerships, bringing together people and organizations from all over California, Nevada, and the American West.

The Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee (LTFAC) is scheduled to meet from 9 a.m. to noon, June 22, 2015, at the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor’s office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 96150. LTFAC will address issues related to federal activities at Lake Tahoe.

Items on the agenda include an overview of committee history, review of committee charter, update on status of Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, and discussion of Committee’s future strategy.

A meadow restoration and road rehabilitation project will close the first 1.5 mile segment of North Canyon Road at Spooner Lake State Park to recreational traffic from June 1 to July 12.

The road closure will affect access to the Flume Trail via North Canyon Road and the Marlette Lake Trail Mondays through Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the construction period. Access to the Spooner Lake Loop Trail will not be affected.

For 140 years, the Glenbrook locomotive has helped write the history of Nevada and Lake Tahoe.

Whether it was hauling lumber from the great lake's shores up the narrow-gauge line to Spooner Summit from 1875-1898, transporting passengers between Truckee and Tahoe City from 1898-1925, or serving as the largest artifact in the Nevada State Museum's collection from 1943-1982, the Glenbrook is a testament to resiliency.