New signs installed along Lake Tahoe's Nevada entrances

People coming into the basin to attend the annual Lake Tahoe Summit on Tuesday will find new signs on the three Nevada entrances: Kingsbury Grade (State Route 207), Spooner Summit (U.S. Highway 50) and the Mt. Rose Highway (State Route 431).

The signs read, “Entering the Lake Tahoe Watershed — Help Protect It!” They were put up to remind everyone passing by them that Lake Tahoe is a special place that needs protecting by everyone coming to visit (and those who are already here).

Funding for the signs came from the State of Nevada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, TahoePlates.com and ConservationClearlycom.

The signs were installed in July in a collaborative project led by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and Nevada Division of State Lands,

Fourth of July celebrations this year left thousands of pounds of trash on area beaches for community volunteers to clean up, showing there is still a strong need to remind people of their responsibility to help protect Lake Tahoe and its beaches.

That same responsibility goes for keeping trash and other pollutants out of stormwater drainage systems and the 63 streams flowing into Lake Tahoe in a watershed that covers 312 square miles.

“Everything drains into the lake. The purpose of these new signs is to bolster environmental stewardship, let all visitors know they are entering a special place, and remind them there’s a responsibility we all share to take care of it,” said Julie Regan, chief of external affairs at TRPA. “These signs are one more tool to help instill that awareness.”

Wild West Communications Group in Homewood, California, designed the signs. They were engineered by Lumos and Associates in Stateline, Nevada, and K B Foster Civil Engineering in Truckee, California. Rapid Construction in Carson City, Nevada, installed the signs.

The agencies are looking to partner with community organizations to adopt the signs and help ensure they remain attractive and in good repair. TRPA is also seeking funding to install more signs on California roadway entrances into the Lake Tahoe Basin.