conserve

NV Energy is urging its electric customers in both northern and southern Nevada to conserve electricity Tuesday and Wednesday between 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. in order to offset energy supply issues caused by record-breaking heat throughout the Western United States. Conservation is the best way to reduce strain on the local power grid.

Liberty Utilities gets some of its power from NV Energy so they too are asking for customers to limit unnecessary power use and stay prepared for potential outage.

Effective measures to conserve energy during this time period include:
 Turn off lights

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - This week's Drought Monitor shows much of the West in some level of drought. Lake Tahoe, the Sierra, and Western Nevada are all in a "moderate drought" stage with no end in the immediate future.

The 90-day outlook shows higher than average temperatures and lower than average precipitation, neither of which is good to break out of a drought.

Following below-average precipitation most of the winter, May storms delivered 181 percent of average in the Northern Sierra for this time of year, but the results aren't showing enough to remove the area from drought.

October 1, 2019 marks the first day of the 2020 Water Year and reservoirs in the state are still full from the epic snow year of 2018-19. California began a new water year today with significantly more water in storage than the previous year thanks to above-average snow and precipitation.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - What is sustainable tourism and what does it mean for Lake Tahoe?

The future of Tahoe tourism needs to be sustainable. This year’s Annual Tourism Forum will address this global concern on a local level on Thursday, May 30 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Responsible tourism is something all businesses in the Lake Tahoe basin are working towards and this year’s forum will explore that theme. The forum will include a main keynote speaker, two general sessions, and breakout sessions designed to get a closer look at four key topics.

This September and October, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board will move forward with hearings and final milestone decisions on two significant initiatives: A new Shoreline Plan and an overhaul of the agency’s transferable development rights system.

TRPA will hold hearings for both these initiatives at the Governing Board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 26, and could hold final votes on them as early as Wednesday, Oct. 24.

A project to improve existing skiing and snowboarding terrain at Heavenly Mountain Resort was approved this week by the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU).

Improvements will include selective widening of ski trails, removing trail obstacles and relocation and/or realignment of some portions of existing snowmaking air and water pipelines to improve user experience, maintain user safety, increase energy and water efficiency, and maintain native species.

Earth Day at Lake Tahoe has a special meaning. Working together through the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, more than 50 local, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sector partners are implementing projects and programs to conserve the Tahoe Basin’s environment and fix past environmental harms.

Nearly 200 conservation professionals from around the country gathered back east this November to have a strategic dialogue about the state of landscape-scale conservation. Lake Tahoe was featured at the forum for the region’s cooperative restoration initiatives, and it was an honor to share the stage with such high-caliber conservation thought leaders.

The national forum showcased how people of all backgrounds are collaborating and working to conserve some of America’s most iconic natural areas.

For 20 years, every August we’ve paused to reflect on our collective commitment to Lake Tahoe’s restoration at the Lake Tahoe Summit. This year, with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein hosting the event, the issue of climate change will be front and center. Climate change poses incredible challenges for Tahoe, affecting not only the health of its famously cold, clear waters, but the health of its expansive forests and what is to become of our $5 billion outdoor recreation-based economy.

Water conservation efforts in California have saved 2.51 million acre-feet of water since June of 2105. This is enough water to provide 6.24 million homes with water for a year, or almost one-third of the state's population.

Since state-mandated water restrictions have been in place, the cumulative statewide savings has been 22.5 percent, when compared with the previous 18-month period.

Since June 2015, the 817.9 billion gallons saved is enough water to supply more than 12.5 million people with water for a year has been saved at the state level.

11:00 p.m. update - NV Energy was able to fix the problem at their substation in Truckee and all of Liberty Utilities customers should be back on line at this time.

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There has been a transmission problem from NV Energy to Liberty Utilities, resulting in power outages throughout the North Lake Tahoe area.

At their last update at 8:00 p.m., Liberty Utilities told customers in Northstar, Truckee and Glenshire to expect rotating outages throughout the night and into Wednesday morning. The problem is at the NV Energy North Truckee Substation that feeds Liberty's distribution lines.

Weather conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend and increased power outages are anticipated. Liberty Utilities is doing all possible for preventative measures, however they are urging their customers to be prepared.

The utility company has added additional line crews for the weekend in preparation and will address the most serious and potential safety situations in priority.

They are asking customers to only call in case of an emergency 1-844-245-6868.

The City of South Lake Tahoe’s Snow Removal crews have been working around the clock to clear snow on city roadways. The combination of the snow and rain mixture is casing roadways to flood. It is imperative to provide snow removal vehicles the right of way as they work to clear roadways as well as blocked drainage ways.

Follow these safety tips:
Do not drive through water that is too deep. “Turn around – don’t drown”

Do not try and cross the snow berm in the center lane. Wait until snow removal crews have cleared the center lane for crossing.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a ruling to uphold the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan created by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). After approval of the plan in December 2012, a lawsuit was filed by the Tahoe Area Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore to block implementation of the plan in February 2013.

At the Lake Tahoe Summit last month, we saw the power of what we can accomplish when we work together. Progress over the last two decades was showcased when President Obama made his first-ever visit to Tahoe and said conservation and restoration efforts like ours are more important than ever as the nation works to adapt to a changing climate and create a more resilient environment.

3:30 p.m. update from Douglas County Officials: The water line has been located, but it is 15 feet deep with a gas line in the excavation hole and unmarked fiber optic lines running parallel to the edge of pavement along the old road bed. Therefore, efforts are currently limited to the use of a vactor truck for excavation.

The road crew is working with utilities on the excavation. It is anticipated that the crews will be working into the night to make the leak repair. Crockett Construction is onsite and they will be performing the excavation once fiber optics are located.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday recognized the extraordinary, lifelong contributions of Coe Swobe. Swobe is considered the “father of TRPA” for his bipartisan work to create the agency and its mission to conserve and restore Lake Tahoe’s environment. Swobe died on May 26, 2016 at age 87.

As a Nevada State Senator, Swobe brokered the landmark 1969 agreement between then Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt and then California Gov. Ronald Reagan and the two state legislatures to create TRPA and the nation’s first environmental bi-state compact.

Restoring and conserving our environment at Lake Tahoe means setting our aspirations at the right scale. That’s what TRPA and many partners are working to do through strategic initiatives to ensure the health of our basin’s forests, streams, and lake, and to improve our communities and transportation infrastructure.

At Lake Tahoe, we know our natural resources are one of our most valuable assets, and that’s why we have worked for decades to conserve and restore them. The natural wonders of the Jewel of the Sierra and the opportunities they afford are why we live here, and why millions of visitors travel here to enjoy the Tahoe Basin each year.

The latest round of funding through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) includes more than $3 million for projects to help reduce wildfire risk in Lake Tahoe communities.

The funding award for Lake Tahoe is part of nearly $40 million going to projects around Nevada to reduce wildfire risk, conserve landscapes, restore wildlife habitat, and improve public recreation. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the funding awards this January.

Winter has arrived in the Tahoe Basin with very welcome early snow events and freezing night time temperatures, allowing snowmaking operations to commence to help open ski resorts early. Given California’s drought and the District’s request for continued water conservation, one may wonder about the wisdom of using water for snowmaking.

Successful conservation actions from a collaborative Lake Tahoe partnership spanning the past 15 years have helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decide today that Tahoe yellow cress (Rorippa subumbellata), a flowering perennial plant in the mustard family found only along the lake’s sandy shoreline, does not warrant federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Nevada and 12 other states took swift action Monday to challenge an Obama administration rule expanding the federal government’s authority over non-navigational waters.

The suit, joined by Attorney General Adam Laxalt with the blessing of Gov. Brian Sandoval, was filed in federal court in the southeastern district of North Dakota on the same day a final rule expanding the definition of “Waters in the United States” was published in the Federal Register.

This week, as part of the first EpicPromise Week, Vail Resorts will present the first ever EpicPromise Awards to two Heavenly or Kirkwood employees for their ongoing commitment to strengthening the local community and fostering a sustainable environment. The EpicPromise Awards are being given at Vail Resorts’ mountains across the country as part of the first annual EpicPromise Week (April 6-10, 2015), a full week dedicated to celebrating Vail Resorts’ widespread commitment to creating a more promising future for generations to come.