Conservation

In anticipation of traffic congestion during the upcoming 4th of July and Labor Day holidays, El Dorado County (EDC) is hosting a public meeting to discuss traffic control measures in the Lake Tahoe Basin on Tuesday, June 18 at 6:00 p.m. at the California Conservation Corps building.

El Dorado County Department of Transportation (EDCDOT) will present a traffic congestion circulation alternative that officially and temporarily closes portions of both Sawmill Road and North Upper Truckee at Highway 50.

The County of El Dorado will be holding a public workshop to receive residents’ input on the Pioneer Trail/ U.S. 50 Intersection Safety Improvement Project on Wednesday, June 12 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the California Conservation Corps in Meyers.

Project alternatives currently being evaluated include a ‘no build’ option, a larger signalized intersection, and a roundabout.

If you are interested in learning more about the Project, this would be an excellent
opportunity for you to help influence the future of Meyers.

Time to clean out your yard, storage area or garage?

Take advantage of the Clean Tahoe Program's annual Community Cleanup Day (aka $5 Dump Day) on Saturday, June 8 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

It's the one day of the year South Shore residents can bring unwanted items to South Tahoe Refuse at HUGE discounts. Only $5 per vehicle load for California residents ($10 for Nevada residents). They are located at 2140 Ruth Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.​

For those bringing a truck and trailer, the charge is $10 for California residents.

- Oversized loads & Uhauls: priced by size ($15-$60)

LAKE TAHOE, CA/NV - Roadside watercraft inspections stations aimed at stopping the spread of aquatic invasive species are opening for the season. Locations, hours of operation, and opening dates are online at TahoeBoatInspections.com and as follows:

Opening Wednesday, May 1:
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., seven days a week

Meyers: at the junction of US Highway 50 and Highway 89, South Lake Tahoe
Spooner Summit: at the junction of US Highway 50 and Highway 28 in Nevada
Alpine Meadows: Highway 89, off Alpine Meadows Road north of Tahoe City

LAKE TAHOE, Nevada – Five people were recognized at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) meeting Wednesday for their commitment to protecting and enhancing Lake Tahoe’s unique natural environment.

Since 2011, TRPA has awarded the Lake Spirit Awards to individuals from both the North and South Shores who are either citizens or agency representatives/environmental scientists.

Building trails, promoting climate change awareness, organizing beach cleanups, and preserving cultural resources are some of the ways this year’s award winners show their dedication to Lake Tahoe.

At its Board meeting in Sacramento on Thursday, the California Tahoe Conservancy accepted a $1.95 million grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to co-manage the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI), a pioneering landscape-level effort to restore forest and watershed resilience to more than 2.4 million acres.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – New boating safety programs are coming online at Lake Tahoe this summer, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Additional enforcement of no-wake zones and excessive boat noise under TRPA’s Shoreline Program are two measures being taken to protect the lake and non-motorized watercraft and swimmers. Boat inspections fees are also being adjusted for the first time in seven years to better safeguard the lake from aquatic invasive species, and sticker fees now include a $12 fee as part of the Shoreline Program.

At a price tag of $150 million, the California legislature is considering a bill that, if approved, would change the way the Sierra snowpack is measured each year.

For 90 years the snowpack has been measured at several locations including Phillips, just west of Lake Tahoe. Normally performed in front of media, staff from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) snowshoe into a spot where they stick a pole into the snow to measure the depth and water content of the snow.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Tuesday, April 2, 325 6th graders from South Tahoe Middle School, Zephyr Cove Elementary School and home-schooled youth, will spend the day at Lake Tahoe Community College going through the 16th annual Drug Store Project.

Since 2004, middle school students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) have gone through the Drug Store Project (DSP), a day-long comprehensive drug prevention program designed to educate youth about the dangers of substance use and abuse.

On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, voters will be selecting their new District 1 State Senator, a vacancy created when Ted Gaines won a seat on the state Board of Equalization in November.

District 1 spans California’s northeastern corner from the Oregon border to Lake Tahoe, including some of the Sacramento area’s eastern suburbs. Residents living in Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou Counties are in District 1 as well as parts of Placer County (Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Loomis, and Rocklin) and Sacramento County (Folsom, Orangevale, and Fair Oaks).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - While the snowpack isn't epic in measurement (yet), it rose above normal with this past two week's storms that brought five feet of snow to the upper elevations.

During the January 3, 2019 monthly measurement of the snow and its water content at Phillips near Sierra-at-Tahoe, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) found the snow to be at 80 percent of normal. The prior year at the same time was a dismal three percent of normal.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is now accepting reservations for the 2019 Winter Trek Conservation Education Program. Fifth-grade teachers may reserve a spot by calling the Forest Supervisor’s office at 530-543-2789, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Winter Trek begins Tuesday, January 15, and continues through March 28, 2019, weather permitting. Field trips are generally three hours long and are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - During their annual community grant EpicPromise celebration, 93 local nonprofits were awarded a total of $1.9 million in cash as well as additional in-kind product support. Across the company, Vail Resorts will give $11.4 million in support to more than 250 community non-profits over the upcoming year.

Each year Vail gives away money and product to groups serving the communities they have resorts located. For Kirkwood, Heavenly and Northstar, support was given to support the health and resilience of the Truckee and South Lake Tahoe communities.

STATELINE, Nev. - Nine projects were honored as "Best in the Basin" Wednesday during the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) board meeting.

For 28 years TRPA's program has showcased projects around the lake that demonstrate exceptional planning, implementation, and compatibility with Tahoe’s natural environment and communities.

The Best in Basin award winners:

Fire Fest 2018 - Saturday, September 29, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the rear parking lot of the Hard Rock Casino Lake Tahoe. Admission is free and it's a great opportunity for families to have fun while learning about fire safety and conservation. There will be a Fire Chiefs dunk tank to raise funds for the Wildland Firefighters Foundation. More info: http://southtahoenow.com/story/09/15/2018/firefest-returns-south-lake-tahoe

Almost 100 volunteers participated in the League to Save Lake Tahoe's 21st annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on the first day of Fall, September 22, 2018. They restored crumbling stream banks, worked to protect native species and removed litter from Nevada Beach at Lake Tahoe.

“Hands-on restoration work is one of the most important actions we can take to Keep Tahoe Blue,” says Marilee Movius, the League’s community engagement manager, “and many hands make for lighter work to help out our busy land managers.”

The public is invited to celebrate National Public Lands Day (NPLD) with the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and our partners at Nevada Beach Pavilion on Saturday, September 22, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The LTBMU and Tahoe Recreation will host this free community event, which provides an opportunity for the public to connect and engage with volunteers and organizations to learn how to best enjoy and protect our public lands.

With dense vegetation spanning over 300 acres, the iconic Spooner Lake portion of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park is increasingly susceptible to environmental disturbances threatening the health of the Tahoe Basin. State officials from forestry, parks and lands announced Thursday the closure of the Spooner Lake portion of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park from Sept. 12 to Nov. 16 to address forest health issues.

Join the Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities to learn how to prepare your family and home for wildfire. In the Lake Tahoe Basin it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when the next wildfire will occur, so now is the time to prepare.

They are holding a free workshop on September 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the North Tahoe Fire Protection District located at 222 Fairway Drive in Tahoe City. It is free and open to the public.

Local experts will be on hand to teach participants about:

This summer marks the tenth anniversary of Lake Tahoe’s Watercraft Inspection Program. Under the program, every motorized watercraft is inspected to ensure it is clean, drained, and dry and not carrying aquatic invasive species before launching at Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The National Forest Foundation (NFF) has received a major grant from the California Climate Investments Forest Health Grant Program to conduct important forest health work on the Tahoe National Forest, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and State Responsibility Area (SRA) lands in the Truckee / Tahoe region.

Location

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Join local public safety agencies on Tuesday, August 7 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for National Night Out at Regan Beach. South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, El Dorado County, Barton Heath, California Conservation Corps and the South Lake Tahoe Action Teams are all involved again this year.

On Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Sugar Pine Foundation will co-host a Tahoe yellow cress (TYC) planting with the Tahoe yellow cress Adaptive Management Working Group at Baldwin Beach, which is National Forest System land managed by the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU). In addition, the LTBMU will host a TYC information booth at the Native Species Festival on June 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Lake Tahoe Golf Course has retained its designation as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program.

Bobby Jaeger, Golf Course Superintendent, led the effort to maintain sanctuary status on this course. Lake Tahoe Golf Course was designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2003 and is one of 904 courses in the world to currently be designated as such.