#TeamTahoe focus of Lake Tahoe Summit

The annual Lake Tahoe Summit held this week at Sand Harbor State Park marked the 22nd time government officials, public agencies, non-profit environmental groups, the public and other groups came together to renew their focus and commitment on preserving the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

First convened by then President Bill Clinton at the Taylor Creek Amphitheater, the annual summit has spearheaded millions in federal funding to keep Lake Tahoe blue. The backdrop of this year's summit was the big blue lake and lots of smoke from major California fires, a stark reminder of why the event is held and why people work hard, and funds are spent in protecting the area.

"Beauty like this we can take for granted," said U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the event's keynote speaker. "We have a responsibility to do what is needed to keep it beautiful. It takes advocates."

Besides federal dollars, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein of California highlighted all the partners who make up #TeamTahoe, those who have embraced their responsibility in keeping the famous lake clarity and protecting the surrounding environment.

The team has brought in $705M in federal funds, $850M from California, $189M from Nevada, $121M from local governments and $362M from the private sector, according to Feinstein who has been at all 22 summits.

Funds have supported road and water quality projects, tending to hazardous fuels and fire prevention, meadow restoration, combatting invasive species, all projects with a common denominator, keeping iconic Lake Tahoe preserved for generations and the beacon for millions of tourists annually.

Murkowski spoke of the bi-partisan effort in Congress in protecting the environments in the country, including Lake Tahoe. The Senate approved funding for the Department of Interior and Environmental Protection Agency on August 1 and it now heads to the House of Representatives for approval.

The Alaskan senator is the second most senior Republican woman in the Senate and heads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) all spoke at the Summit, touting bi-partisan, bi-state teamwork to protect Lake Tahoe. The other two congressional speakers, Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) sent a different message. Amodei, acting as the master of ceremonies, used jokes not only to cut down the Senate, but also the state of California from college choices of the other speakers to Nevada being a state unlike their western neighbor.

McClintock has a differing opinion on how funds should be spent in Lake Tahoe and wants to bring back commercial logging to the Sierra as means to fire protection.

"How much time does Lake Tahoe have?" said McClintock, speaking of the buildup of fuels around the lake.

"Timber comes out in two ways, it's carried out or its burned out," he added. McClintock said timber density needs to match the land density at a level current water levels can handle. "Harvested timber sales have dropped 80 percent on federal lands," he said, blaming policies of the 1970s and calling for properly managed lands to stop the growth of fires.

As proven this month in California, wildland fires know no boundaries.

"Fire can be destructive in Lake Tahoe," said Feinstein. With increasing water and air temperatures, climate change not only brings larger fires, but also allows invasive species and algae to grow. Even with no new invasive species allowed into the lake since the inception of boat inspections, Feinstein said "there is still much more that needs to be done."

She said the Senate approved five large planes to be given to CALFIRE to fight the large fires in California

Dr. Graham Kent, Director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory and UNR Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, joined the slate of speakers. The AlertTahoe system of fire detection cameras he is responsible for has stopped at least 50 fires in the Lake Tahoe Basin for growing more than one acre. While the cameras themselves don't stop fire, they allow for fire officials to zone in on the first sight of smoke and manage things accordingly.

"We are battling the normal," said Kent. The camera systems are moving into other regions and other universities are joining in the efforts. He touted collaboration, cooperation and public awareness in their success.

"What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. What happens in Lake Tahoe changes the world," said Kent.

It was John Muir who said, "going to the mountains is going home." While for thousands it truly is home in Lake Tahoe, many others find peace among the trees, streams and lakes.

When you take your role and dedicate your time and energy into protecting Lake Tahoe, the rewards will be maximized said Garamendi. "Never, never, never give up...do that and Tahoe will be forever blue," he said.

The crowd at Sand Harbor was full of participants of #TeamTahoe, those tasked in fund raising and environmental efforts in preserving Lake Tahoe.

"To combat (things threatening clarity) we have a rejuvenated Team Tahoe," said Feinstein. "When everyone buys into together, great things can be accomplished."

Since Dr. Goldman of the U.C. David Tahoe Environmental Research Center first took President Clinton on their boat in Lake Tahoe, over 627 environmental improvement projects have been completed, 148 are underway, 780 miles of roadways have water quality improvements completed on them, 75,000 acres of forest thinning projects have been completed to restore habitat and there is now more publicly owned shoreline at the lake.