Lake Tahoe Summit to focus on building resilient communities

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.

Expert panels, workshops, and networking opportunities will focus on the many connections between metropolitan and rural areas, including drinking water, forest health, transportation, and recreation, and how metropolitan and rural areas can partner to improve sustainability and resiliency.

On Monday, June 22, expert panel speakers and participants will discuss best practices, challenges, and opportunities for improved mountain-urban partnerships. Panel discussions will include:

Forest Health and Water Security: Learn about science showing the benefits forest restoration has for water supplies and hear from communities that are protecting their water sources through forest management practices.

Transportation, Recreation, and Access: What if people could easily travel between urban and mountain areas and get around their own communities without cars? Hear from communities that have successful regional and local transportation systems and learn about the latest studies demonstrating an overwhelming need for such systems.

Valuing the Mountain-Urban Connection: How can mountain-urban partnerships find solutions to our most challenging problems? Mountain areas are not only playgrounds for urban areas, they are also rich with resources, from water to timber to renewable energy. As climate change threatens these resources, regional leaders are partnering together to work through these issues. Speak with representatives from the Sierra Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Partnership, the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative, and Sacramento’s Capital Regional Climate Readiness Collaborative to learn how they and other groups are exploring regional opportunities to partner and address climate change impacts.

There are serious challenges to building resilient communities, but that means there are also exciting opportunities for people to find collaborative solutions. On Tuesday, June 23, summit participants will take part in planning workshops that are designed for them to share their perspectives and discuss how they can work together.

A full agenda, schedule, and a link to register for Connections 2015 are online at http://www.trpa.org/connections2015/. Registration is $45 and scholarships are available.