Comments sought on proposed West Shore Lake Tahoe campground project

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is asking for public input on the Environmental Assessment prepared for the William Kent Best Management Practices (BMPs) Retrofit and Administrative Site Redevelopment project. The proposed project area is approximately 22 acres and is located one mile south of Tahoe City on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe and consists of the William Kent Campground, the William Kent administrative site, and the William Kent day-use beach area.

The William Kent Campground is a U.S. Forest Service recreation facility, managed by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and operated under a special use permit. The campground was originally built in 1924 and restroom facilities in 1969.

Proposed improvements include installation of BMPs, reconfiguration of the campground circulation pattern, relocation of the kiosk area and the Recreational Vehicle (RV) dump station and construction of accessible restroom facilities. A new administrative building would be constructed that would include a visitor information center to serve the West and North shores of Lake Tahoe.

In addition, a new fire station would be built that would replace the Meeks Bay Fire Station. The existing Meeks Bay Fire Station would be removed and the area rehabilitated. The William Kent beach/day-use site would be re-contoured, the current slope stabilized, BMPs installed and the storm water pipe on the beach shortened. This would provide increased filtration and reduce sediment before storm water enters Lake Tahoe. An accessible path would be constructed to access the beach from the picnic area.

Work on the campground retrofit portion of the project could begin as early as May of 2014 and would take approximately six months to complete.

Comments would be most helpful if received by the close of business on Friday, May 25, 2012. For more information on how to comment and a detailed description of the proposed action, please contact Ashley Sommer at (530) 543-2615 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/WilliamKentRetrofit.