forest

The New Year brings big changes both for me personally and for the Forest Service in Lake Tahoe. After 37 years with the agency, I’m looking forward to retirement and handing over the reins at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to a new Forest Supervisor.

I’m grateful for steady Basin leadership that has enhanced relationships making them stronger. Days of past tensions between conflicting interests have passed. Today, local agencies work closely together on solutions that protect our communities and our environment.

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

The man accused of starting the King Fire earlier this year has been indicted on felony arson charges according to the The El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson.

Wayne Huntsman is charged with felony arson of forest land with multiple special allegations of arson with aggravating factors. He sits in the El Dorado County Jail in South Lake Tahoe with a bail set at $10,000,000.

There were several reports of visible smoke Thursday in areas around recent Lake Tahoe controlled burns, and there was more concern with the high winds.

The Forest Service has crews monitoring the locations, especially those near Spooner Summit and Sawmill Road.

At this time there are no burns out of control and with the expected rain and snow Thursday night and Friday morning, concerns should ease.

Join us for an exciting and educational story time. Come and support local non-profit, The Sugar Pine Foundation and hear the story of "The Happiest Tree in the Forest", a new children’s book about the sugar pine trees of Lake Tahoe.

With colorful and playful illustrations the book tells the story of Lambe, a lonely little sugar pine seedling who grows up to be a very happy tree. Follow Lambe as he grows from ‘a little seed in a big pinecone’ into the biggest sugar pine in all the forest. Meet all of his animal friends along the way.

Location

Weidinger Public Relations was presented with four awards by the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter at the organization’s 28th annual Silver Spike Awards recently held in Reno. They won the prestigious “Judge’s Choice Award,” denoting Northern Nevada’s best overall campaign.

California State Parks, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations near Incline Village, Tahoma, Meeks Bay, Sugar Pine Point State Park, Tahoe Mountain and Heavenly urban lot areas.

There will be 87 acres of hand piles burned at Sugar Pine State Park, 30-40 acres of hand piles around the North Shore, 122 acres at Meeks Bay, 40 acres around Heavenly Valley and 123 acres on Tahoe Mountain.

Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Tahoe In Depth, the environmental newspaper that the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency created two years ago to help improve awareness and understanding of lake issues, was recognized with a Silver Spike award at the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America annual awards ceremony on Thursday.
Silver Spike awards recognize the northern Sierra region’s best public relations and communications campaigns, according to Anne McMillin, President of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Several key public service positions have been filled the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Tom Lotshaw has been hired to work as TRPA’s Public Information Officer. He replaces Jeff Cowen, who worked for TRPA in that and other roles for eight years.

Lotshaw graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in public affairs journalism and has seven years of newspaper reporting experience. He worked most recently as a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana, and as a reporter and photographer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Ready to grab the saw and head out into the forest to cut down your Christmas tree? It's almost that time of year again, but make sure you have a permit before that first cut.

The Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic is moving to Truckee's Schaffer's Mill in 2015, the seventh year of the tournament.

Upshaw, who played often in South Lake Tahoe's American Century Celebrity Golf, withdrew from the 2008 tournament held July 11-13 that year. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in North Lake Tahoe just a month later. He had a home on the North Shore and was hospitalized at Tahoe Truckee Hospital where he died on August 20, 2008.

With empty lots in the South Lake Tahoe area owned by various agencies and private owners, the public doesn't know who to report incidents or situations to unless they are marked.

In order to help the public, the California Tahoe Conservancy began posting property tags today to help the public better identify its lands on the South Shore.

If you've driven past South Tahoe High School in the last month you've most likely noticed a new bike trail heading from Lake Tahoe Blvd and Viking Way, through the forest to Sawmill Pond.

This new segment of bike trail, which is part of the Lake Tahoe Blvd Enhancement Project, will help to connect Meyers to the City of South Lake Tahoe.

Free public fire wood gathering will again be available at the Wrights Lake Recreation Area on the Eldorado National Forest to this weekend, November 8-9. “This weekend’s weather forecast is favorable,” stated Richard Thornburgh, Pacific District Ranger. “We feel this is a perfect opportunity to continue cleaning up the area by allowing people to take home free firewood.” The Recreation Area was hit by a severe wind storm almost a year ago, causing more than 200 trees to fall.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to for the week October 24 through October 30, 2014. They responded to 170 calls during the 7 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

10/24
Petty theft in the 1000 block of Emerald Bay Road

10/25
Violation of Court Order in the 900 block of Modesto Ave
Felony "Other" in the 3600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drunk in Public at Washington Avenue and 3rd Street
Unlicensed Driver in the 3600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

If you have an absentee ballot and have not mailed it in, there is still a way to make sure your vote is counted! You can turn in your ballot at any precinct location on Tuesday. All precincts are open from 7 am to 8 pm. You can also hand deliver your ballot to the El Dorado County Elections Department, 2850 Fairlane Ct., Placerville or the El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk's Office, 3368 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 108, South Lake Tahoe. Ballots must be received by the Elections Department no later than 8 pm on Tuesday.

Below is a list of all locations in El Dorado County's District V:

Smoke will be visible from various locations around the lake due to prescribed burns of underbrush and wood piles starting Sunday.

The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will conduct prescribed fire operations in the Incline Village, Ponderosa Ranch, Tunnel Creek trailhead areas and on scattered urban lots around the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning, Sunday, November 2, 2014, and continuing as conditions allow.

The Forest Service may have to close the Taylor Creek Visitor Center area if visitors continue to disregard the warnings to keep away from the bears frequenting the area in search of salmon.

Visitors are being asked to keep their distance when encountering bears. The Visitor Center staff routinely encounter unsafe situations as guests ignore their instructions and get too close to bears to take photos and videos.

Environmental groups concerned that the 2004 Sierra Nevada Framework Forest Plan failed to protect old growth forests and associated wildlife species, was not consistent with national environmental laws so they filed suit.

A coalition of conservation organizations led by Sierra Forest Legacy and including the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society have signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, ending the decade long battle.

September brought the reality of wildfires to the forefront in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The King Fire came within eight air miles of the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit boundary, and as we all anxiously awaited its containment, the Cascade Fire broke out in the Desolation Wilderness.

Laurence:

This fall, while under your supervision, approximately 16% of the Eldorado National Forest burned due to the King Fire. You are entrusted to protect and maintain the health of this critical forest/watershed. Given the extreme drought and high fire risk conditions we experienced this summer, what fire restrictions, ranger alerts, precautionary measures, were in place the week of Sept 07, 2014? Arson yes, but could we have been more alert?

A decision to approve the retrofit project to revitalize the Tallac Historic Site was announced today by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU).

The project, in the works for a few years, will improve recreational facilities, implement water quality BMPs, as well as upgrade paths, restrooms, parking and picnic areas.

Most of us moved to Meyers because it's a rural community, away from the City & tourist congestion. I am pro-growth, most locals are, as long as it's appropriately sized growth for our community. The proposed Meyer's Plan however, opens the door to a Mega Resort, with incentives for large development and in my mind, lacks long range planning.

I started going to planning meetings last summer, just to listen, but it wasn't until December that I got really concerned. Here's a timeline of events, from my perspective:

The Forest Service will start their fall prescribed burn operations in South Lake Tahoe this week. The weather conditions expected on Tuesday and Wednesday will determine which area will be burned first.

The two areas that will have piles burned are located near South Tahoe High School and in Christmas Valley.

100 acres near the high school are planned to be burned between October 14 and 16 with spoke expected to travel Northeast.

15 acres in Christmas Valley are planned to be burned between October 14 and 15 with smoke traveling in a Northeast direction.