Ecology

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - The Tahoe East shore Trail has become an interpretive trail after 23 new educational signs were installed thanks to funds from the NV Energy Foundation. The signs provide information on regional history, the environment, and local wildlife.

The popular trail runs between Incline Village and Sand Harbor State Park with parking on SR28 at Tunnel Creek in Incline.

Everyone is invited to spend a day learning about Lake Tahoe’s unique natural environment, ecology, and conservation from area experts. Family Science Day takes place from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at North Shore’s Kings Beach State Recreation Area.

The Tahoe Climate Change Action Network will be hosting a community forum on forest health and forest/fuel management policies in the Lake Tahoe Basin on May 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Join your neighbors and local Natural Resources professionals in forest ecology, forest and fire sciences, and fuel management.

The forum will take place at the Lake Tahoe Community College's Aspen Room in South Lake Tahoe.

Location

Join UC Davis TERC for an evening science lecture on Mountain Lakes and Climate Change on Thursday, April 25 in Incline Village.

Between 12,000 and 14,000 small lakes are scattered throughout the Sierra Nevada. How is climate change affecting these remote mountain lakes? Recent research provides insight into the climate sensitivity of these water bodies and the influence of warming temperatures and a shrinking spring snowpack. Join Dr. Adrianne Smits as she discusses how lakes across the Sierra Nevada are expected to change and what that change could mean for the surrounding ecosystems.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is now accepting reservations for the 2019 Winter Trek Conservation Education Program. Fifth-grade teachers may reserve a spot by calling the Forest Supervisor’s office at 530-543-2789, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Winter Trek begins Tuesday, January 15, and continues through March 28, 2019, weather permitting. Field trips are generally three hours long and are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is pleased to announce that Danelle D. Harrison was selected as the new Deputy Forest Supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin. Harrison arrived at the LTBMU a few weeks ago and comes to us from the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, where she served as the District Ranger for both the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts since 2014.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Lake Tahoe Community College Accounting/Business instructor Dr. Jon Kingsbury, World Languages instructor Catalina Goralski, and Biological Sciences instructor Dr. Sue Kloss are all being honored for their outstanding work in the classroom and their dedication to LTCC’s students. Dr. Kingsbury was chosen by his fellow LTCC faculty members as the Distinguished Faculty Award winner for 2018. Goralski was also selected by her fellow faculty members as their choice for Distinguished Adjunct Instructor of the Year. Dr.

Both California and Nevada suffered destructive wildfires last year. Nevada saw 768 fires burn more than 1.3 million acres. California experienced the deadliest, largest, and most destructive wildfires in its history. Just a few hours-drive from Tahoe, more than 40 people died and thousands of homes were destroyed in the wine country and North Bay last October. In Southern California, the Thomas Fire ravaged communities and forest lands last December with damaging flooding and landslides piled on after the fire subsided.

Are you a college student looking for an internship this winter? Are you a retired school teacher who misses your students or providing education? Or maybe you simply love the outdoors and want to be involved in your community?

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is looking for volunteers to assist with their Winter Trek and Ski with a Ranger conservation education programs at Heavenly Mountain Resort from January through March 2018.

Conservation efforts are seeing the return of black bears into the Great Basin of Nevada, an area that hasn't seen the mammal for over 80 years according to a study released this week by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), and the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR).

Prior to this study, most of the state's black bears could be found around Lake Tahoe and the Pine Nut Mountains after being forced from the Great Basin by unregulated hunting and conflicts with domestic livestock.

Climate change has brought major changes to Lake Tahoe including warmer water, an increase in dying trees and a reducing summertime lake clarity.

These and other findings were released today in the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) annual Tahoe: State of the Lake Report for 2016. The year was marked by the hottest temperatures on record followed by a winter of unprecedented levels of rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada.

TERC Director Geoffrey Schladow presented the report at a free public talk July 27 in Incline Village.

Fifth-grade teachers may reserve a spot for the 2017 Winter Trek Conservation Education program starting Monday, December 12. This program, offered by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, is led by USFS rangers and community volunteers and gives students an outdoor winter ecology learning experience that takes place on snowshoes.

How do aquatic invasive plants and animals threaten the ecology and water quality of Lake Tahoe? Learn about steps you can take to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species during the next Tahoe Talks in the Aspen Room at Lake Tahoe Community College on Wednesday, June 15 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Local experts will talk about why it’s important to inspect your boat, clean your recreational equipment and keep an eye out for aquatic invasive plants.

Speakers:

Zack Bradford, Natural Resources Manager, League to Save Lake Tahoe

Around the world, invasive species are notorious for their ability to out-compete native plants and animals. Once introduced to an area, they can spread out of control and fundamentally change both landscapes and ecologies, and then pose incredible challenges to manage or eradicate.

Local fifth grade teachers may reserve a spot for the the 2016 Winter Trek Conservation Education program starting on Monday, December 14, 2015.

Led by Forest Service rangers and community volunteers, the Winter Trek program offers fifth-graders an outdoor winter ecology learning experience that takes place at 9,100 feet via the Gondola at Heavenly Mountain Resort. The program includes a snowshoe physical education adventure, while learning about fire and forest ecology of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Decisions made in Congress over the next few months may well determine the extent to which Lake Tahoe remains blue and clear, with healthy forests, resilient watersheds, and its ecology protected from the threat of new aquatic invasive species.

For two decades, the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) has provided guidance for the shared investments made by our federal, state and local governments, homeowners, and businesses to restore and protect Tahoe’s unique environmental qualities and enhance its diverse public recreation opportunities.

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.

The El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society presents Before and After the Flames: Fire, Forest and Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada, a talk by Dr. Hugh D. Safford, Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region (including California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands) and Dr. Becky Estes, ecologist with the the US Forest Service, Tuesday, January 27th, 7pm at the Planning Commission Meeting Room, Building C of the County Office Buildings, 2850 Fairlane Court in Placerville. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Each winter, groups of students participate in the US Forest Service's Winter Trek Program in South Lake Tahoe.

UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center invites the community to take a different approach to family values in a public presentation led by Dr. Rick Grosberg. The program will begin at 6 pm on Thursday, October 16 at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences.

Our Community has the opportunity to benefit from a Raley's grant program that will give money to the 10 most popular projects in many regions of California (138 projects submitted in total) . Several of our community members have submitted proposals for projects that would benefit The Environment; Health; or Kids and at least 4 proposals have been made for projects at one of our schools or for the entire school district. (There are other Tahoe proposals as well.)

Lake Tahoe is one of California’s greatest natural treasures. It is a beauty to behold, with forested mountains surrounding the deep blue shimmering surface. It is famous for many recreational activities- snowboarding, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, boating, fishing, and sunbathing. But the clear blue waters of Tahoe are in trouble. Invasive species, climate change, and sedimentation all threaten the unique ecosystems of the lake.

The popular South Lake Tahoe winter education program for fifth graders, Winter Trek Conservation Education, begins a new series of classes in January.

Local teachers may reserve a spot for their class beginning on Monday, December 16 by calling the Forest Service at 530-543-2694, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Winter Trek begins Tuesday, January 7, 2014, and continues through March 27, 2014, weather permitting. Field trips are generally three hours long and are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The Sugar Pine Foundation's goal is to save the Sugar Pine and White Pine trees from blister rust in Lake Tahoe by educating and and involving the community in hands-on forest stewardship.

The group has several opportunities this fall to help save the trees by planting seedling in areas around the lake. 850 seedlings have already been planted this fall and more will be planted at the following events: