Resource Conservation District

A wide variety of local businesses will fill Harveys Tahoe on Friday, March 30 for the 2018 GO Local: Business EXPO from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This annual event is a community favorite that aims to showcase the most cutting-edge businesses on the South Shore. This year 85 exhibitors will feature their latest and greatest products, services and promotions. All members of the community are encouraged to attend and can expect a fun night of food tasting, beer and wine sampling, live music and vendor giveaways.

The heartbreaking fires in Northern California’s wine country this month have upended hundreds of thousands of people’s lives. In just over one week, the fires across Northern California burned more than 220,000 acres, destroyed 6,000 buildings, and killed more than 40 people. Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.

After an extensive search and interview process the Tahoe Resource Conservation District board of directors has unanimously appointed Nicole Cartwright as its Executive Director to lead the agency.

Ms. Cartwright has been with the agency for ten years and has served the Tahoe RCD in a variety of increasingly responsible positions.

Residents of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado county, Fallen Leaf Lake and Alpine County are encouraged to take advantage of the free curbside chipping service offered by the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD).

The free service will be offered through October, weather permitting.

Homeowners can work on their defensible space by removing limbs and slash on their property, then the chipping crew will come by and collect it, then convert into wood chips.

This action reduces flammable vegetation and helps homeowners protect their property from the threat of wildfire.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue along with multiple local agencies are coming together and hosting the 4th annual Wildfire Safety Expo on Saturday, June 17 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the TJ Maxx parking lot located at the “Y” where
Highways 50 and 89 intersect.

Everyone one is invited to the free event with lots of information about being prepared in case of a wildfire.

The watercraft inspection spots around Lake Tahoe once again proved their valuable service when a boat at the Alpine Meadows station was found to have quagga mussels on board May 14.

The boat was quarantined for several days and Tahoe Resource Conservation District staff performed multiple decontaminations to ensure all invasive species were removed before the boat was released to the owner.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board voted to increase prevention methods by requiring motorists towing boats to remove drain plugs from their watercraft after leaving the lake.

Boating season in Lake Tahoe is here, and with it comes the return of roadside stations that will inspect and decontaminate motorized boats and watercraft heading to the lake.

All motorized watercraft require inspection for aquatic invasive species (AIS) prior to launching into Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake and Echo Lake. Invasive species, such as quagga mussels, New Zealand mudsnails, and hydrilla, are known to multiply quickly and colonize underwater surfaces, including docks and piers, water supply and filtration systems, buoys, moored boats, and even the beautiful rocky shoreline.

Learn how forest health and fuels management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin create effective community protection from wildfire during a free tour on Saturday, November 5 in South Lake Tahoe from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Those attending will get an in-depth perspective of forest management and what it means to reside within a Fire Adapted Community.

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District in partnership with local fire districts, and other agencies has established the Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities program to educate people on wildfire preparedness.

Smartphones and invasive species don't normally go together, but this summer in Lake Tahoe, one was used to help keep the other out.

In a new partnership with other agencies around the West, the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program receives real-time updates from other land managers about vessels traveling to Lake Tahoe from waters with a high risk of containing invasive species.

By sharing the data, Tahoe's watercraft inspectors are alerted before the suspect boats show up.

The 3rd annual Wildfire Safety Expo will be held in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 11 from noon to 3:00 p.m. at the TJ Maxx parking lot at the "Y" where Highways 50 and 89 meet.

In the next "Tahoe Talks" on Wednesday, May 18, learn about the number one threat to Lake Tahoe’s legendary clarity: stormwater pollution. Local experts will talk about projects around Lake Tahoe that are helping to keep pollution from entering the Lake and steps you can take every day to prevent things like trash, oil, fine sediment and nutrients from making their way to Lake Tahoe.

Speakers:

Moderator: Zack Bradford, Natural Resources Manager, League to Save Lake Tahoe
Russ Wigart, Stormwater Coordinator, El Dorado County

Over one hundred community members will gather on May 14 as the League to Save Lake Tahoe organizes the year’s largest single-day, hands-on citizens science effort to capture a snapshot of the water quality health of South Shore streams feeding into Lake Tahoe.

“By participating in the 16th annual Snapshot Day, volunteers are building on years of data gathered in these streams to provide valuable data information we can use to help protect Lake Tahoe,” said Jesse Patterson, deputy director for the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

On Thursday, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board awarded more than $7 million for seven watershed restoration and forest health projects around the lake. Thirteen different applicants submitted 32 grant requests totaling $30 million, but with just $13,950,000 to give out, it was a very competitive process.

The money comes from Proposition 1, the $7.545 billion water bond approved overwhelmingly by California voters in November 2014. It was divided around the state to agencies like the Conservancy for water supply infrastructure projects.

Its becoming a concern at beaches and venues around the country: increased trash left behind. Lake Tahoe sees massive amounts of trash on beaches after big weekends, especially the 4th of July, but the basin is not alone.

Headline in North Carolina: Residents upset with beach equipment and other trash left behind on shores.

Headline in Los Angeles: Trash left behind from the Made in America festival in downtown Los Angeles.

Headline in Indianapolis: Trail of trash left behind at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Tahoe Resource Conservation District, in partnership with South Tahoe Public Utility District, is hosting FREE Water Conservation Workshops this summer.

The next one on the schedule is "Understanding and Implementing Micro-irrigation."

The public is invited to the 16th annual Children's Environmental Science Day presented by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center on Sunday, August 2 at Commons Beach in Tahoe City. The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will continue until 3:30 p.m., with a free Mumbo Gumbo concert at 4:00 p.m.

During times of drought, homeowners turn to water conservation not only in their daily habits but in their gardens as well.

There is even a word for this: xeriscape. The definition of xeriscape is landscaping and gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water from irrigation.

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is hold a free workshop on xeriscping on Wednesday, June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the South Tahoe Public Utility District.

What are homeowners in the Tahoe Keys doing to fight aquatic invasive species (AIS)? How successful was the pilot research project to reduce the Asian clam population in Emerald Bay, and what does it mean for future control projects? What does the latest research say about whether quagga mussels could survive in Lake Tahoe?

Roadside stations for inspections and decontaminations of motorized boats and watercraft are officially opening for the 2015 boating season. Locations, hours of operation and opening dates are as follows:

Opening Thursday, May 1st:

8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., 7 days a week

• Meyers: at the junction of US 50 and Highway 89

• Spooner Summit: at the junction of US 50 and Highway 28 in Nevada

• Alpine Meadows: Highway 89, off Alpine Meadows Road north of Tahoe City *

*Road construction on Alpine Meadows Road: Go to placerroads.com or call 530-581-0471

The most innovative South Shore businesses will exhibit at the 2015 Business EXPO: Innovation in the Basin on Friday, March 27. The largest business and networking event of the year, Tahoe Chamber’s Business EXPO includes 100 local businesses ranging from restaurants and resorts to recreation providers to retailers. The event includes food and drink tastings, giveaways and a new networking lounge sponsored by the City of South Lake Tahoe, Winters Construction Group and Red Carpet Events and Design.

The public will have a chance to learn about agency efforts to address stormwater pollution and get involved at a stormwater symposium on December 10 at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Location

Several key public service positions have been filled the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Tom Lotshaw has been hired to work as TRPA’s Public Information Officer. He replaces Jeff Cowen, who worked for TRPA in that and other roles for eight years.

Lotshaw graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in public affairs journalism and has seven years of newspaper reporting experience. He worked most recently as a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana, and as a reporter and photographer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Divers are mobilizing at the mouth of Emerald Bay to start removing 5 acres of rubber mats that were laid on the lake bottom two years ago for a pilot project to control Asian clam populations in the area.

Divers are anticipated to be working in the water through November, so boaters are asked to exercise caution when entering and exiting Emerald Bay and obey a no-wake zone that extends 600 feet from shore at Lake Tahoe.

Camp Richardson will be turned into an agricultural center on September 16 when over 500 third and fourth graders from South Lake Tahoe take part in the 2nd Annual Tahoe Farm Day.

Tahoe Farm Day is an all day field trip where the students learn about the wide variety of regional agriculture. Over 30 volunteer presenters bring agriculture alive for students through creative, interactive activities that feature fruits, vegetables and farm animals as well as concepts of healthy eating, nutrition, and stewardship of the land.