Harry Reid, the "all star lineup and clean up hitter Barack Obama"

"We're here to celebrate because we love Lake Tahoe," Nevada Senator Harry Reid said at the 20th annual Lake Tahoe Summit on Wednesday. Reid, who started the focus on Lake Tahoe along with President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore with the first Summit in 1997.

"Like a World Series team who can't rest on their laurels," said Reid, "we need to build on progress."

Reid went on with his World Series antidote and introduced the "All Star Lineup" at the 20th Summit, his last in office as he won't be seeking reelection after serving the state in Washington since 1987.

His starting lineup on the dais was California Governor Jerry Brown, California Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and the "clean up hitter" President Barack Obama.

Since the first Summit, $1.9 billion has been spent on the revival of Lake Tahoe, with 500 projects completed and another 20 in the works. California has put in $758.6 million, Nevada $123.7 million and local governments, $98 million. The private sector investment, one that both Obama and Feinstein said is needed as the government can't foot the whole bill, is to date at $338 million.

"You see that money at work when you walk down the trail, when you drive on a new stretch of road, when you see hazardous fuels eliminated, when you see 16,000 acres of habitat restored and shoreline added for public benefit," said Senator Feinstein who owns a home on the West Shore.

Reid, who will be retiring this year, still showed signs of a fall on a treadmill he took in January, 2015. Obama referred to that accident when honoring Reid for his service to the Lake Tahoe, Nevada and the country. "As he gets ready to ride off into the sunset, though I don't want him getting on a horse."

"He'll go down as one of the est leaders of the Senate," said President Obama. "I couldn't be more proud than working with him side by side."

Senator Barbara Boxer, who Reid referred to "as the sister I never had," was the co-sponsor of the original Lake Tahoe pact. "I am so honored to be part of this Tahoe team," said Boxer, who also won't be seeking reelection this year.

"We have more work to do," said Boxer. The $450 million Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015 passed committee unanimously, but has yet to get to the Senate floor. The Act was the result of last year's summit but has taken awhile to become work that both sides of the Senate could agree on. The money is pledged for the next ten years and contains water resource aid as well as fuels reduction and other water clarity projects for Tahoe.

The demure Boxer needed a box to stand on to see over the podium, which Feinstein joked, "I always say Barbara and I are the long and the short of it."

Reid, who was applauded for his efforts to protect Lake Tahoe by the other on stage including President Obama, said much more work needs to be done to keep Tahoe blue.

"We have the best scientific research used to protect the lake," said Reid. "Even with government intervention, or because of it, we're better off than in 1997. We can't be complacent."

Also speaking Wednesday was Department of Interior Assistant Secretary Janice Schneider who announced that earlier in the day, eight projects were will receive close to $8 million from the sale of lands in Las Vegas via the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA). She said $25 million of that will go to Lake Tahoe and the surrounding area for fuels reduction and forest projects.

To date, SNPLMA has brought in 1200 projects and $3.5 billion to benefit public places in Nevada and California, including Lake Tahoe.