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Several South Lake Tahoe projects were awarded this week by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) as being the "Best in the Basin" for demonstrating exceptional planning, design, and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

The projects that were recognized upgraded highways, built new bike trails, improved water quality, restored environmentally-sensitive areas, remodeled blighted commercial buildings, and created defensible space for better wildfire protection.

The Best in the Basin award winners are:

Thousands flock to the Sierra Nevada every fall to watch the color changes of the aspen trees along with the annual upstream migration of the Kokanee Salmon in Taylor Creek to lay their eggs and complete their life cycle.

The bright yellows, oranges and reds of the aspen are emblematic of fall in Lake Tahoe, but this year that will not happen in the typical fashion that people have become accustomed to.

In a stroll through many of the aspen groves on the South Shore it looks like fall has already happened with dried leaves leaving the branches and making their way to the forest floor.

Experts warn of a Godzilla El Niño this fall.

So, what exactly is a "Godzilla" El Niño?

Actually, it’s just a clever joke by a NASA climatologist: "This definitely has the potential of being the Godzilla El Niño," Bill Patzert of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, California, said Thursday.

What's It Look Like?

"Godzilla" El Niño is not a technical or scientific term, but it's a good way to describe the upcoming El Niño event, because it could likely be one of the strongest since record-keeping began in 1950.

The U.S. Forest Service will begin the first phase of their retrofitting of the Camp Richardson campground on July 21, something that has been in the planning stages since 2009.

During this first phase, they will remove approximately 250 trees in the campground on the north side of Highway 89. This portion of the project will last about two weeks. Work will be completed on this side of Highway 89 in October.

Phase two on the south side of Highway 89 is anticipated to begin in September 2015 and be finished by June 2016.

As Pacific Ocean temperatures continue to warm and trade winds shift, federal scientists now say that the El Niño weather event that’s emerging could be one of the strongest on record.

Twenty years and many meetings later, the Tahoe Valley Area Plan unanimously passed the first of two final hurdles at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

In the first reading to adopt the three resolutions which make up the plan, Mayor Hal Cole and the City Council thanked everyone who was part of the long process to start shaping things up at the "Y". "This plan will have an impact for years to come," said Cole.

Heavenly Mountain Resort has received the final approval needed for its major expansion of on-mountain summer activities. After Vail Resorts gained approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on March 27, they needed the blessing of the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board, which they received today.

Tahoe Douglas Rotarians spent Saturday cleaning out the historic Osgood Toll House, the oldest standing building in South Lake Tahoe. They took out hundreds of items including windows, doors, window frames, shutters and boards. After removing them they cataloged each item, cleaned and dried them and then stacked them back in the toll house.

South Lake Tahoe may soon be one less aging motel along the main stretch in town. On Tuesday, the Placer County supervisors gave staff the go ahead to purchase the A & A Lake Tahoe Inn for $1.425 million. The county wants to have the motel's 34 tourist accommodation units (TAUs) so they can add hotel rooms at the north end of Lake Tahoe.

The south shore motel rests in a stream sensitive zone. If the purchase goes through, Placer County would give the motel to the California Conservancy for demolition and restoration while keeping the TAUs.

The following originally ran in South Tahoe Now on January 21, 2014 as part of a series of stories about winter activities when there isn't much snow:

Since there is a lack of snow through the Sierra Nevada, visitors and locals in the Lake Tahoe basin are enjoying things that are normally reserved for the summer months.

The New Year brings big changes both for me personally and for the Forest Service in Lake Tahoe. After 37 years with the agency, I’m looking forward to retirement and handing over the reins at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to a new Forest Supervisor.

I’m grateful for steady Basin leadership that has enhanced relationships making them stronger. Days of past tensions between conflicting interests have passed. Today, local agencies work closely together on solutions that protect our communities and our environment.

The 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony was the biggest yet, with 300 people at Thursday's banquet and 175 nominations of local businesses, employees and experiences.

Here is the list of winners:

Experience Award – Sponsored by Marriott Grand Residence & Vacation Club

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced recipients of its 2013 Best in the Basin awards today. Award winners in the agency’s 24th annual Best in the Basin include remodel, new construction, Best Management Practices, stream restoration and erosion control projects that stand out as examples of the best environmental planning, design and implementation.

Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day is the largest volunteer restoration event in the Lake Tahoe basin. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited to restore trails, stabilize stream banks and plant native plants. Last year 82 volunteers from various organizations participated to help restore Tahoe Paradise Park in Meyers, CA.

This year, volunteers are invited to help restore the watershed habitats that lead to Lake Tahoe.

The stewardship project starts at Tahoe Paradise Park in Meyers at 8 a.m.

Location

Find out how healthy the lake is at the annual State of the Lake Address at the Tahoe Environmental Center in Incline Village on August 14.

Dr. Geoff Schladow will report on how the quality of Lake Tahoe's water has changed as well as examining the long term trends that affect clarity. Schladow is the founding director of TERC and an expert in the areas of environmental fluid mechanics, water quality modeling, and the dynamics of inland waters.

The chemical treatment of invasive plants by the U.S. Forest Service in Lake Tahoe will continue through the summer at about 70 different locations totaling 12.5 acres. In South Lake Tahoe the treatment will take place at the Angora wildfire area, Baldwin Beach meadow, Burke Creek trail, Luther Pass campground, Heavenly Creek Meadow, Heavenly Ski Area, Rabe Meadow and the Spooner Summit fire station as well as at several urban lots that the Forest Service controls.

Carl Fisher. Perhaps not a name you'll hear during the Indianapolis 500, nor, on any other given day.

Clarity levels within the iconic blue waters of Lake Tahoe continued a decadelong trend of stabilization in 2013, according to University of California, Davis, scientists who study the lake.

Data released today by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC)and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency reported the average annual clarity level for 2013 at 70.1 feet. While the reading represents a 5 foot decrease over the previous year, it is still well above the lowest value recorded in 1997 of 64.1 feet and above recent years' averages.

A measure to advance environmental restoration and forest management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin yesterday passed out of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The legislation would reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, originally passed in 2000, which has helped advance one of the most comprehensive watershed restoration programs in the nation-the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, or EIP.

Two days after clinching a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, South Lake Tahoe's Jamie Anderson took the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix overall slopestyle title and a $10,000 cash prize with her win Saturday at Mammoth Mountain.

Anderson is looking forward to representing her country in Sochi, "It’s not just the local Tahoe community; it’s the entire U.S. and even my friends throughout that world that are supporting me. It’s really special to come together for the Olympics because of how much love you get from your country and representing your nation. It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before."

The City of South Lake Tahoe's vision to recreate a community that encourages revitalizing commercial and residential areas got one step closer today with the TRPA's adoption of the South Lake Tahoe Tourist Core Area Plan. The area involved is the Highway 50 corridor from Fairway Ave at Bijou, up and down Ski Run Boulevard, and up to the Stateline.

Outdated development and pollution in the core of South Lake Tahoe could be on their way out with the adoption today of the City of South Lake Tahoe Tourist Core Area Plan by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board.

Everyone is invited to check out progress on the Upper Truckee River Restoration Project in a U.S. Forest Service field trip on Friday, October 25, 2013 at 5 p.m.

The project will replace the existing stream channel with a new channel that is more stable and is connected to the adjacent floodplain, which will provide a better aquatic habitat, support a healthier meadow ecosystem, and reduce the amount of fine sediment that reaches Lake Tahoe.

Take part in the 16th Annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on Saturday, September 28 from 9 am to 2 pm at Tahoe Paradise Park (1011 E. San Bernardino Ave, next to Tahoe Paradise Park).

It has been 17 years since President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore stood on the shores of Lake Tahoe and issued a challenge. They urged the frequently fractious perspectives in the region to come together in support of the restoration of Lake Tahoe.