environmental

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What do South Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada; Bend, Oregon; Bozeman, Montana; Steamboat Springs, Colorado; and Flagstaff, Arizona have in common?

They are all mountain towns who have joined together to make it easier for tourists to open their hearts and wallets in support of wild places. They have taken steps to empower travelers to help protect the outdoor places where they recreate.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Most have seen the blue and gold placards attached to trees on lots around Lake Tahoe, signifying the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) owns that piece of property.

CTC currently owns nearly 4,700 of these labeled parcels comprising around 6,500 acres around Lake Tahoe. Over 4,300 of these parcels are environmentally sensitive, leaving 331 parcels as "asset lands."

NV Energy is holding a meeting on Wednesday in Incline Village to inform customers about their Public Safety Outage Management (PSOM) this fire season.

The open house will explain how they will shut off power in extreme fire-risk areas, including Lake Tahoe, during a PSOM event. When certain environmental conditions are met, power will be shut down in order to protect their customers, equipment and environment from wildfires.

7/10/19 Update - The stats in this story are updated with recalculated totals.

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Today, 402 people volunteered along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe to protect this national treasure. As part of a lakewide cleanup organized by the League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue), participants removed 1240.25 pounds of litter that would have harmed the Lake’s ecology.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Keeping beaches from feeling the after effects of Fourth of July celebrations is one goal of Take Care Tahoe, a group of more than 30 agencies and organizations dedicated to protecting Lake Tahoe. Take Care is working to address the behaviors that impact Tahoe’s amazing natural environment, and the one big message for the upcoming holiday: please pack out what you pack in.

The South Tahoe Public Utility District board meeting has been moved to July 3 at 9:00 a.m. since their normally scheduled meeting for the first Thursday of the month fell on the 4th of July.

A 400-acre plume of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has been found in some of the South Lake Tahoe groundwater and the agencies tasked with protecting the local drinking supply will be updating the community on cleanup efforts and the status of the plume on Wednesday, June 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the South Lake Tahoe City Council Chambers at the airport.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has announced he'll retire in one year.

Dr. Tarwater has been with LTUSD since 2005.

During their last meeting on June 11, the Board concluded its annual evaluation of Dr. Tarwater's performance. Though details of that evaluation are not available, they extended his contract one extra year until 2022 until they were notified of his notice of retirement.

At their June 25 meeting, the Board is scheduled to accept his retirement.

Vail Resort’s EpicPromise grants are distributed to over 50 non-profits in the Lake Tahoe South Shore community annually. These grant funds are used by the recipient organizations to support a variety of non-profit programs which benefit children, mental illness programs, environmental projects, to name just a few. Bread & Broth (B&B) is an EpicPromise Grant recipient and a portion of the funds go to sponsoring 12 Adopt A Day of Nourishment (AAD) Monday Meal dinners each year.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.- The problem of aquatic invasive weeds and nuisance plants in the Tahoe Keys continues to grow, even with the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association (TKPOA) investing time and money to control the problem. The aquatic invasive species (AIS) continue to spread and the costs continue to grow.

The following 91 businesses took out a license to operate in South Lake Tahoe during the months of March and April 2019:

March

3/4
MANZANITA 5 PLEX RENTAL
HUI HUI XIU MASSAGE THERAPIST
KMART
NESTLE TOLL HOUSE CAFE BY CHIP
SULLIVAN SHARED HOME RENTAL

3/6
FARRY SHARED HOME RENTAL
SAVAGE LANDSCAPERS
THE ISLAND SHARED HOME RENTAL

3/7
GOOD KIDS PEDIATRIC

3/11
DREU MURIN PRODUCTIONS
KIZ CONSTRUCTION INC
RIVA ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING

3/12
BRH CONSTRUCTION

Six interpretive signs are being installed around Lake Baron at Tahoe Paradise Park and the public is invited to their official unveiling on Saturday, June 1 at 10:00 a.m.

The Board of Directors of Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District worked with the staffs of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) and received input from students and teachers at the Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School to develop the signs.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Each year the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Board of Education approves a calendar with three snow days built into the school year. Should there be more than three snow days, decisions have to be made: move the last day of school or apply to the State of California for a waiver on the extra days, thus giving students fewer than the required days in the classroom.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - All involved parties reached a settlement today concerning the May 2018 boulder rolling incident at Emerald Bay. At that time, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) received a complaint about the contractors hired to build a retaining wall at Emerald Bay on SR89. In that complaint, a video was provided that showed equipment pushing a large boulder over the edge of the road as crews cheered. As the boulder rolled it took out or damaged several trees, including a majestic Sugar Pine.

Vail Resorts was awarded the 2019 Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) for its bold environmental sustainability program, Commitment to Zero. The annual Golden Eagle Awards, which were presented at the NSAA National Convention in San Diego last week, are the highest honors given for environmental performance in the ski industry.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It isn't every day that 7-year-old Rocco DeFranco begins his day with a ride to Freel Perk for a cup of hot chocolate with Principal Joe Dameral before heading to Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School (LTESM) to begin his day.

And that was just the beginning of a day that wasn't a normal one for the first grader.

During the school's recent Spring Fling Pasta Dinner fundraiser, Rocco bid on an interesting silent auction item to be Principal for a Day. He spent his savings of $180 on that special day and Rocco was able to collect his prize on May 3.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe today earned a 2019 Platinum Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. By sharing metrics that highlight progress the League is making toward its mission, the organization is helping donors move beyond simplistic ways of nonprofit evaluation such as overhead ratios.

MEYERS, Calif. - Fourth graders in Alissa Behrendt's class at Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School (LTESMS) just became one of the three top classes in the nation after participating in the Buddy Bison Carbon Reduction Contest.

For their efforts, the class was given $1,500!

LAKE TAHOE, Nevada – Five people were recognized at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) meeting Wednesday for their commitment to protecting and enhancing Lake Tahoe’s unique natural environment.

Since 2011, TRPA has awarded the Lake Spirit Awards to individuals from both the North and South Shores who are either citizens or agency representatives/environmental scientists.

Building trails, promoting climate change awareness, organizing beach cleanups, and preserving cultural resources are some of the ways this year’s award winners show their dedication to Lake Tahoe.

Liberty Utilities and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) are working together on a proposal to reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires on approximately 6,300 acres of forest in the Lake Tahoe Basin along 55 miles of power line corridors.

The Liberty Utilities Resilience Corridors Project would help create healthier and more resilient forests while reducing the risk of unwanted wildfires that could ignite either from vegetation coming in contact with utility infrastructure or failures of infrastructure.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Tahoe High School Career & Technical Education (CTE) students shared their knowledge and expertise with 5th graders from Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School on Thursday, showing them several options the school has in those programs.

South Tahoe High School (STHS) has ten different CTE programs, including sports medicine, auto mechanic, culinary and dental hygiene.

The visiting 5th graders got hand's one experience in all programs and were then treated to a lunch catered y the school's culinary students.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – New boating safety programs are coming online at Lake Tahoe this summer, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Additional enforcement of no-wake zones and excessive boat noise under TRPA’s Shoreline Program are two measures being taken to protect the lake and non-motorized watercraft and swimmers. Boat inspections fees are also being adjusted for the first time in seven years to better safeguard the lake from aquatic invasive species, and sticker fees now include a $12 fee as part of the Shoreline Program.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. The League to Save Lake Tahoe is celebrating Earth Day with a movie, presentation, and festival on April 22, 2019 and the public is invited to join them at the Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe.

Make a difference, learn more and win fun prizes!

The day starts with a clean up of the area from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Now that the snow has melted trash is showing and help is needed to keep things clean. Meet at the village at 9:00 a.m.

Then, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. visit environmental non-profit booths at Heavenly Village. Visit all booths and win prizes.

Location

Weather permitting, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the USDA Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks in the Tahoe Basin.

The following areas are scheduled to be treated at this time:

Kingsbury Grade, off Granite Springs Drive - 2 acres to be burned by Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 4/8 - 4/12

Behind South Tahoe High School - 15 acres to be burned by Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 4/8 - 4/12

Adjacent to Sawmill Pond -10 acres to be burned by Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 4/8 - 4/12