lake tahoe basin management

NV Energy is proposing to replace the electrical transmission line that runs from Foothill Rad in the Carson Valley to Tramway Drive near Heavenly Mountain Resort, and a public comment period has been initiated.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is seeking public input on 634 Line Rebuild project. The draft Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzes the proposed replacement of the transmission line that serves the Kingsbury substation, which provides electricity to Heavenly Mountain Resort and the surrounding Kingsbury Grade area.

Everyone is invited to "Ski with a Ranger" at Heavenly Mountain Resort beginning Friday, January 22, 2016. The popular program is offered by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Tours will be held every Monday and Friday beginning at 1:00 p.m., last approximately one-hour and continue through April 1, 2016, weather permitting.

Just seventeen days ago, Joel Suenkel was leading troops in Wiesbaden, Germany as an Army Colonel. The 30 year veteran of serving in the Armed Forces wrapped up his career when he retired on December 1. Just five days later he was in South Lake Tahoe in his new position as Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US Forest Service.

His first day on the job happened to be his new employer's annual Christmas party. Suenkel spent that evening meeting his new co-workers

Heavenly is proposing improvement to their existing skiing and snowboarding terrain near the top of the gondola, and the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit wants input from the public.

Improvements would include construction of a permanent ticket sales kiosk, relocation of the Red Fir handle tow lift, installation of a Magic Carpet surface lift, obstacle removal and widening of the Tamarack Return Trail and tree removal under the Blue Streak Zipline.

Joy Barney was recently honored for her dedication to the U.S. Forest Service's educational programs in the Lake Tahoe basin.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) Conservation Education Program Specialist was awarded the Gifford Pinchot Pacific Southwest Region Interpreter and Conservation Educator of the Year Award. Named in honor of the first Chief of the Forest Service, the annual award is a national honor given to Forest Service employees for achievement in environmental interpretation and conservation education.

The popular Lake Tahoe basin Christmas tree permits from the U.S Forest Service go on sale Monday, November 16 on both the South Shore and November 18 on the North Shore.

Permits cost $10 each with a limit of two per family. They must be purchased in person, are not transferable and are sold on a first come, first serve basis. Even though USFS lists noon on December 24 as the last day for sales, they are normally sold out well before that date. In 2014, tree permits sold out on December 4. The last day to cut a tree down is Christmas Day, December 25, 2015.

With more than 4,000 acres of land in the Lake Tahoe basin being burned by the U.S. Forest Service annually, prescribed burns have become an important part of keeping forests healthy.

On Thursday, I followed the Tallac Hotshots as well as Engines 41 and 42 from the U.S. Forest Service as they burned an eight acre parcel off Grass Lake Road in Christmas Valley.

There will soon be a new Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City now that the Tahoe Transportation District has secured all of the $33 million needed to complete the State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project and Meeks Bay Trail Project.

Tallac Historic Site, Kiva Beach, Valhalla and the Taylor Creek Visitor Center will all be closed on Wednesday so the U.S. Forest Service can conduct pesticide treatments to reduce the risk of plague. The Pope-Baldwin Bike Trail will remain open, but signs will be posted where the trail crosses closed sites.

The gates to these areas will close on Tuesday evening, September 15 at 7 p.m. and likely reopen on Thursday morning, September 17.

High above the Lake Tahoe Basin rim, a six-member U.S. Forest Service trail crew has been busy reconstructing the Kingsbury Stinger Trail, located on lower Kingsbury Grade. The upgraded trail will remain open to Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) 50-inches wide (or less) including all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles and non-motorized recreation use such as mountain bikes, hikers and equestrians. When completed, the new trail will offer a thrill-seeking OHV experience, while reducing erosion and impacts to forest resources.

8:00 p.m. update 8/9/15

The 21 year-old firefighter who died in Saturday evening as he was working on the Sierra Fire has been identified as Michael Hallenbeck of Shingle Springs, CA.

Hallenbeck was a member of Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) Organized Crew 36.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work this week at Angora Creek near South Lake Tahoe. Crews will construct 700 feet of new stream channel to replace the existing Angora Creek channel, which was rerouted and straightened in the early 1900s to accommodate livestock grazing. Seneca Pond, constructed in 1964 when the area was under private ownership, will be returned to a wetland.

Fire restrictions on National Forest System lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin begin on Wednesday, July 1, 2015, and will remain in effect until the official end of fire season.

The Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee (LTFAC) is scheduled to meet from 9 a.m. to noon, June 22, 2015, at the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor’s office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 96150. LTFAC will address issues related to federal activities at Lake Tahoe.

Items on the agenda include an overview of committee history, review of committee charter, update on status of Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, and discussion of Committee’s future strategy.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the Tahoe Transportation District’s State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project to realign State Route 89 through Tahoe City.

The project realigns State Route 89 to route through traffic over roundabouts and a new two-lane bridge across the Truckee River to reduce transportation conflicts among drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians at the congested pinch point at the Tahoe City “Wye.”

Jeff Marsolais, the new forest supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, will be speaking at the next meeting of the Tahoe Area Sierra.

Formerly LTBMU’s deputy supervisor, Marsolais, who now oversees the 154,000 acres around the Lake Tahoe Basin, will be speaking on a variety of issues including Recreation Sustainability and Landscape Collaboration.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and comment in an open forum after the talk. This meeting is free of charge and open to the public.

Location

A project to remove invasive plants from the Lake Tahoe Basin will continue this summer. The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will eradicate, control, and contain these plants using chemical treatment. Work will occur at approximately 70 infestation sites beginning May 15 and continuing through September, 2015.

Heavenly's Epic Discovery project passed their biggest hurdle Thursday as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's (TRPA) Governing Board unanimously approved the newest year-round recreational experience in South Lake Tahoe. With it, comes a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike. Epic Discovery will include new zip lines, sky cycle tree canopy tours, a mountain bike park and trails, ropes courses, and interpretive and educational tours to teach visitors about the Lake Tahoe Region’s cultural and environmental resources.

The public has an opportunity to meet Forest Service Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) engineering, trails and recreation staff during an open house on April 2.

This is a great time to ask questions regarding OHV used on designated routes within the Lake Tahoe Basin, the LTBMU Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) and the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreational (OHMVR) Grant application.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is asking for public input on a proposal to reconstruct the Kingsbury Stinger Trail near Kingsbury Grade. The Stinger Trail runs approximately 2.75 miles from Genoa Peak Road (Forest Road 14N32) to Terrace View Drive on lower Kingsbury Grade and is open to all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and mountain bikes. The trail is very steep in places, is prone to erosion, crosses private land for approximately 280 feet on the lower segment and no longer meets current Forest Service standards for safety and sustainability.

After five years overseeing nearly 40 percent of Utah's land, Juan Palma retires Friday as the state director for the Bureau of Land Management.

While many state and local leaders would rather evict the federal agency from Utah, they don't feel the same way about Palma.

An easygoing leader who was able to navigate the fraught politics of public lands management in Utah, Palma is respected by environmentalists and oil and gas developers alike.

The final environmental impact report on Heavenly Mountain Resort's Epic Discovery Project has been completed and is now ready for public review. The new project, located at Heavenly Mountain Resort, will expand their summer activities to include more canopy tours, hiking and biking trails as well as interpretive activities.

The New Year brings big changes both for me personally and for the Forest Service in Lake Tahoe. After 37 years with the agency, I’m looking forward to retirement and handing over the reins at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to a new Forest Supervisor.

I’m grateful for steady Basin leadership that has enhanced relationships making them stronger. Days of past tensions between conflicting interests have passed. Today, local agencies work closely together on solutions that protect our communities and our environment.

Several areas of the Truckee River near Tahoe City are set for restoration because of erosion and degraded water quality caused by river users.

Years of people accessing the river and paved trail from Highway 89 pullouts has created the need for about 900 feet of stream bank and wet meadow restoration. This project will include reshaping the river bank through placement of woody material and boulders.