USFS closes South Shore Recreation areas: Up to $10,000 fine for violation of order

(Since publishing, LTBMU has corrected the date their order expires.)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - All national forest recreation areas and sites in the South Shore Recreation Corridors are now closed. In an announcement Wednesday, the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) said the closures are to keep in alignment with current federal, state and local guidance for social distancing and to ensure health and safety of its employees, visitors and volunteers.

These areas have been quite popular with people violating the Governor's Stay at Home Order by traveling to Lake Tahoe.

Violation of these orders may result in a fine up to $5,000 for an individual or up to $10,000 for a group. South Shore recreation sites and areas impacted by this announcement include the following:

· Pope-Baldwin National Recreation Bike Path
· Pope Beach
· Camp Richardson Resort
· Camp Richardson Corral
· Fallen Leaf Campground/Beach
· Tallac Historic Site/Beach
· Kiva Picnic Area/Beach
· Kiva Beach/Tallac Point
· Taylor Creek Visitor Center
· Baldwin Beach

These closures will be in effect through April 30, 2020, and will address public health and safety concerns to area and site related recreation. A violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both per 16 USC 551 and 18 USC 3559, 3571, and 3581.

The USDA Forest Service may elect to temporarily suspend access to additional recreation areas that attract large crowds and cannot meet social distancing guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Visitors to national forests are urged to take the precautions recommended by the CDC so that these areas can remain open for everyone’s enjoyment.

To protect public health and safety, all recreationists enjoying open areas of their national forest near their neighborhoods are encouraged to:

· Avoid visiting the forest if you are sick and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

· Follow CDC guidance on personal hygiene and social distancing before and during your visit to the forest.

· If an area is crowded, move to a less occupied location. Also consider avoiding the forest during high-use periods.

· Take your trash with you when you leave. Trash overflowing the receptacles becomes potential sources for the spread of COVID-19.

· Please make arrangements to use the restroom before or after your visit to the forest. Unmanaged waste creates a health hazard for other visitors and employees.

For tips from the CDC on preventing illnesses like the coronavirus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention.html. Information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is available at www.usda.gov/coronavirus.

For up-to-date information on the LTBMU and to view the forest closure order, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu.