League to Save Lake Tahoe receives $60,000 Wells Fargo grant

The League to Save Lake Tahoe received a grant Monday from Wells Fargo and Company as part of a $3 million Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across 64 community-based nonprofits nationwide to help support land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure and educational outreach.

“We are very pleased to receive this highly competitive Wells Fargo environmental grant,” said Darcie Goodman-Collins, League executive director. “We’ll be using the grant to enhance volunteer programs that engage communities in reducing the impact of stormwater runoff and erosion, including storm drain marking, riparian habitat restoration along the Upper Truckee River and our new storm drain monitoring program, Pipe Keepers.”

The League was named among 64 nonprofit recipients of Wells Fargo’s 2013 Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across the country in honor of Earth Day. The grant program began in 2012 as part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities by 2020. It is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through a $15 million, five-year relationship to promote environmental stewardship across the country.

“We’re pleased to announce the League to Save Lake Tahoe as a recipient of Wells Fargo’s environmental grant program to help provide long-term solutions to the region’s environmental challenges,” said Ashley Grosh, head of Wells Fargo Environmental Philanthropy.

The goal of the Wells Fargo Environmental grant program is to provide cash grants for highly impactful projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. The League was identified by Wells Fargo and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as needing extra help with its volunteer programs to protect water quality.

“We sought out the best ideas and programs to protect and conserve the environment for local communities,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “Through Wells Fargo’s generous contributions, these community-based projects will provide immediate benefits to local ecosystems and will help build and strengthen environmental stewardship ethics.”

The grant program funded proposals in select cities/regions (see full list) in the following focus areas:

— sustainable agriculture and forestry
— conservation of land and water resources
— energy efficiency and urban infrastructure
— community outreach and environmental education

The community and environmental impacts of all grants will be measured and reported.
For example, in 2012, the Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program collectively funded 8,621 acres of habitat restoration and 165,970 newly planted trees. The grants also helped reduce more than two million gallons of runoff water and an estimated 331,840 pounds in CO21.

The full list of 2013 winners can be found here. Details of the program and a link to the 2014 application can be found at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation application website: www.nfwf.org/environmentalsolutions.

Environmental impact estimates were made using the National Arbor Day Tree Benefit Calculator. For more information go here.

About the League
The League to Save Lake Tahoe, also known by the slogan “Keep Tahoe Blue,” is Tahoe's oldest and largest nonprofit environmental advocacy organization. The League is dedicated to protecting, restoring, and advocating for the ecosystem health and scenic beauty of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The organization focuses on water quality and its clarity for the preservation of a pristine Lake for future generations. Learn more at keeptahoeblue.org.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2012 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

A leader in reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions and building sustainably, Wells Fargo has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the U.S. Green Building Council. Since 2005, Wells Fargo has provided more than $21 billion in environmental finance, supporting sustainable buildings and renewable energy projects nationwide. This includes investments in more than 260 solar projects and 34 wind projects that generate enough clean renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of American homes each year. For more information, please visit. www.wellsfargo.com/environment.

About National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Established by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation sustains, restores and enhances the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, it has awarded over 12,100 grants to more than 4,000 organizations and leveraged $618 million in federal funds into $2.1 billion for on-the-ground conservation. To learn more, visit www.nfwf.org.