healthy forests

A few spots are left in the this summer's Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on Saturday, July 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Join the League to Save Lake Tahoe for a small, RSVP only and physically distanced restoration event. The deadline to sign up is coming quickly - 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 24.

By pitching in, you are improving ecosystem health and the wildlife habitats that surround Lake Tahoe. Healthy forests and meadows act as natural pollution filters to Keep Tahoe Blue.

Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited to this fun, hands-on restoration day.

The following is the second in a series of stories on being a community that is prepared for wildfire.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Vegetation fires are natural and were normal before policies were created to suppress them for fear of uncontrollable and destructive wildfires as seen in the late 1800s. When some of the first residents arrived in Lake Tahoe between the Gold Rush and Silver Strike, it was common to see just six-seven Jeffrey Pines per acre. Trees in the Tahoe Basin were clear cut to provide the lumber for building mines under Virginia City.

Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited to this fun, hands-on restoration day on Saturday, September 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Nevada Beach. By pitching in, you are improving the watershed habitats that surround Lake Tahoe. Healthy forests act as natural pollution filters to Keep Tahoe Blue.

Wear sturdy boots and clothes that are comfortable and can get dirty, and wear sunglasses. Bring a reusable water bottle and leather work gloves if you have them.

Location

Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited to this fun, hands-on restoration day. By pitching in, you are improving the watershed habitats that surround Lake Tahoe. Healthy forests act as natural pollution filters to Keep Tahoe Blue.

Participants at the Spring Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day will help assess the work done from a past event and continue important work. A light breakfast, refreshments and a prize will be provided to all volunteers.

Location: Intersection of Barbara Ave. and Lodi Ave., South Lake Tahoe. (Shuttle to site provided).

Achievements in preserving Lake Tahoe were celebrated August 22 during the 21st Lake Tahoe Summit at Tallac Historic Site, but it was clear there is a lot more to do and the job will never be over.

Started by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, this annual gathering of government, public agencies and private partners highlights what has been done, what is being done, what what still needs to be done in keeping Lake Tahoe clean and clear.

Vail Resorts has called on the United States Congress to approve the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015. This Act provides $415 million in funding and reauthorizes important Lake Tahoe restoration activities that began in 1997 and refocuses federal, state and local efforts toward reducing wildfire threats, improving water quality and clarity, and combating invasive species. All of these are important to the local economy at one of the most visited lakes in the world.

With California and Nevada grappling with a third year of drought, one of the largest and most complex challenges we face over the long run at Lake Tahoe is adapting to a changing climate.

Climate change will affect the protection and restoration of our beautiful mountain lake as well as the expansive forests around it. And the health of our lake, forests, and communities are all intertwined.

Proactive forest management activities can reduce high-severity fire by up to 75%, save up to three times the cost of fighting forest fires and bring added benefits to people, water and wildlife according to a study released today.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not” — Dr. Seuss
As you may know, sugar pines and other white pines are plagued by a non-native invasive pathogen. White pine blister rust kills about 90 percent of sugar pines it infects. Scientists and restoration managers have agreed that the only effective restoration strategy is to identify seed trees resistant to the rust and plant their progeny. That is exactly what the Sugar Pine Foundation does and you can help too. Last fall, a volunteer described planting sugar pines as “creating life in our neck of the woods.”