Keeping Lake Tahoe the resilient jewel it is for the next 10,000 years

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The resiliency of Lake Tahoe was the focus of the 24th annual Lake Tahoe Summit Tuesday, held virtually instead of on the shores of the pristine lake in the Sierra Nevada many call home and even thousands more visit.

Lake Tahoe is a uniquely special place - the Washoe knew it, today’s residents know it, and visitors know it. The summit brought together leaders that know it too, including Governors Gavin Newsom and Steve Sisolak, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Diane Feinstein, Kamala Harris and Jackie Rosen, Congressmen Tom McClintock, Mark Amodei, Congressman John Garamendi and Olympian David Wise.

Since the first Summit held by President Bill Clinton in 1997, the annual meetings have kept the focus on keeping Lake Tahoe blue, healthy, and able to withstand invasive species, wildfire, climate change and human intervention. The meeting 24 summers ago came from an invitation from Senator Harry Reed to the President to join him in Incline Village. As the public was invited, the hosting of the event has switched between the two states that border the lake, and this year's Summit was hosted by U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.

"Team Tahoe," as Senator Diane Feinstein calls the unprecedented private-public partnership tasked with protecting the lake, has been responsible for getting $2.4B in investments including $790M in federal funds to help with about 700 restoration projects around the lake, over 160 miles of trail building, and the thinning of 85,000 acres of forests. The Summits have also led to shoreline restoration, and road improvements to reduce runoff.

Feinstein said at Tuesday's Summit that the biggest test was ahead - climate change with dying trees, threat of bigger wildfires, and reduced snow amounts.

She said climate change is a call to action to respond with science-based approaches to protect Lake Tahoe.

"To save the shared lake it takes resilient spirit to confront new challenges, but we are up to the task," said Feinstein.

Senator Kamala Harris of California, and the Democratic candidate for Vice President also participated in the virtual event, recalling her fond memories of visiting Tahoe as a child. She said climate crisis is banging on our doorstep, and the collaboration will continue to address invasive species, wildfires, and other threats to keeping the lake healthy.

The keynote speaker, Olympian David Wise of Reno, spoke of resiliency and compared going for that final run in competition to the status we are in now protecting Lake Tahoe.

"We are on the best of three runs now," said Wise. "Our climate has put up with a lot of our crap. We need to strap back on our skis and land that third run by making changes for both the place we live locally and on the map."

"We have to do better. We have the opportunity to make that last run and keep Tahoe healthy," Wise said in closing.

With the legislators involved in the Summit dedicating their focus on protecting the environment and lake, the public was tasked to continue helping keep Tahoe resilient.

After months of high tourism numbers, excessive trash left behind, the call to not leave traces as you move through the region was made. The public's admiration for the lake also put pressure on the lake in both towns and the ecosytem, said Cortez Masto.

She said to not only support organizations like the Tahoe Fund and League to Save Lake Tahoe who work to keep Tahoe resilient, but to also rely on people power and not just science and technology.

"Humans have tasked Tahoe, but it's up to u to make sure the cool clear waters last another 10,000 years," said Cortez Masto.

To view the Summit, visit https://vimeo.com/451626475.