Restoration of Upper Truckee River planned near Lake Tahoe Golf Course; Public comment ends July 30

There are just two days left for the public to comment on a proposed restoration project of the Upper Truckee River that runs adjacent to the Lake Tahoe Golf Course and Washoe Meadows State Park.

Besides restoration, the proposed project would also ensure a sustainable solution for the local economy at the Lake Tahoe Golf Course and open up access for the public at Washoe Meadows including a new ADA trail along the restored river, public bridges over the river, and an enlarged public access point on Highway 50 near Sawmill Road. The only current access to the park is through a neighborhood.

When completed, the river project would ultimately restore a 1.5-mile section of the river to its natural state, preventing loads of sediment from entering Lake Tahoe, improving the habitat of the flood plain, improve aquatic and wildlife habitat, and improve and expand riparian and meadow vegetation. Most sections of the Upper Truckee River from the airport to Lake Tahoe have already undergone restoration projects.

Currently, 16 dump truck loads of sediment enter Lake Tahoe from the project area each year. Deteriorating river banks need to be restored to prevent this.

Restoration plans have been narrowed down to a preferred one, the Alternative 2B Project (Alt 2B), and Alternative 1, doing nothing and leaving all the same. Alt 2B would accomplish the above tasks by relocating five holes of Lake Tahoe Golf Course to keep their turf from lining the river.

A group of 50 interested people took a tour of the planned project area two weeks ago. Cyndie Walck, a geomorphologist with CA State Parks, led the tour. She has 25 years of experience working to restore streams and protect watersheds in the Tahoe area.

California State Parks acquired the property that is now known as Washoe Meadows State Park and Lake Valley State Recreation Area in 1985. Since then, the park has remained a completely undeveloped park, its use, and even its whereabout, have been virtually unknown except by local walkers, runners and cross-country skiers.

The original golf course was constructed on the incised meadow floodplain area in 1958-1962 and designated as Lake Valley State Recreation Area to allow for continued golf recreation.

Litigation has postponed restoring the river for years, but with a conclusion on that front, plans can now move forward if approved by the California State Parks and Recreation (CA Parks) Board in October 2018.

A lawsuit was filed by a group formed by Sierra Club members, Washoe Meadows Community. They sued CA Parks in 2010 because the original plans for river restoration had multiple project alternatives but didn't identify a preferred alternative. This prevented the public’s ability to participate in the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process.

At that time, nine holes of the golf course were proposed to be moved and some holes were at jeopardy of being removed.

There is a local group that has ideas that will both accomplish the goals of the project and have a golf course with both the first hole and tenth hole adjacent to the clubhouse. The Alt 2B project has the tenth hole starting far from the golf course, not a desired outcome.

Kevin Sommerfeld, general manager of the Lake Tahoe Golf Course, told South Tahoe Now that they'd add a snack bar and restrooms out at the proposed tenth hole if that is what the final plan entails.

American Golf, the course's management company, had a 20-year lease from CA Parks to operate at its current location. That lease expired in 2009, but with the lawsuit tying everyone's hands, it's just been renewed each season. Once a plan is adopted and they know what kind of golf course can be offered to the public, CA Parks can put out an RFP (Request for Proposal), according to Walck.

American Golf also wants to put in irrigation upgrades, but cannot until a plan is in place, Walck said.

All state parks concessionaires with contracts can have a maximum of 20 years per lease. American Golf can apply again once the RFP is made public.

"30,000 rounds of golf are played at Lake Tahoe Golf Course a year, making it the only park in the Lake Tahoe Basin that runs with a profit," said Walck.

Kathy Strain, Biology and Environmental Science teacher at Lake Tahoe Community College, spoke to the South Lake Tahoe City Council about the project at their last meeting. She told them the planned 1.5-mile section of the Upper Truckee River of river needs to be restored and the golf holes near the river be moved away from the river to keep the meadow alive by naturally letting the river flood.

"It was built to close to the river in the 1950s," she said.

If the Board approves Alt 2B in October, it would be a 12-18-month planning and design phase with engineering and modeling. They would then go after grant funding to pay for restoring the river. Construction would be over a five-year period as they create new water channels and replace golf holes. Walck estimates it would cost about $2.5M to relocate the five holes at the golf course, $1M for the design phase, and about $4M for the river restoration.

ALT 2B HIGHLIGHTS

RIVER and ENVIRONMENT:

· Restores a 1.5-mile section of the Upper Truckee River
· Protects Lake Tahoe’s clarity by reducing sediment input
· Reduces golf course turf by 15%
· Protects the fen area and reduces impacts to the stream environment
· Expands Washoe Meadows State Parks by two acres
· Works in conjunction with a multi-reach restoration effort along the Upper Truckee River as several projects are collaborating to improve the environment

GOLF and ECONOMY:

· Retains and improves the 18-hole championship, Audubon recognized golf course for economic vitality of the region
· Relocates five holes to less sensitive land out of the floodplain
· Updates irrigation system of the golf course to be more water efficient and replace old pipes
· Incorporates more elevation changes
· Generates substantial revenues and jobs to the local economy
· Replaces port-o-potty with new restrooms

RECREATION:

· Expands Washoe Meadows State Parks by two acres
· Improves and promotes access for more people to be able to enjoy the Park vs. neighborhood access for only a few
· Increases recreation access to Upper Truckee River, opening a mile of previously closed river to the public, while maintaining current access
· Increases access to Washoe Meadows State Park
· Adds new ADA accessible trail along the river and a new recreation bridge over the river

The community is invited to learn more about the factual benefits of the project at http://restoreuppertruckee.net, and to support Alt 2B by submitting comments to utproject@parks.ca.gov.

Public Comments are due by July 30, 2018: http://restoreuppertruckee.net/comments/

For more information on this Project, email: utproject@parks.ca.gov

The California Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioners (PRC) will be deciding the direction of this Project on October 18 and 19, 2018. To submit comments to the PRC: Email to: info@parks.ca.gov

Letters can be directed to:
California State Park & Recreation Commission
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001