native species

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The new Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Deputy Forest Supervisor Danelle D. Harrison is our guest columnist and looks back, and ahead, to the health of Lake Tahoe

Looking Back

December is a special time of year when our thoughts turn to family and friends, and communities come together to celebrate the season. It also marks the end of the year. And what a year it was. Together, we experienced unprecedented events including a record-breaking wildland fire year in the Pacific Southwest Region.

Sugar Pine Village in South Lake Tahoe is envisioned to be a new residential, mixed-use affordable community that compliments the existing neighborhood while also preserving native species and sensitive land. The project will be designed to provide residents with new high quality, sustainable housing designed to support active transportation, encouraging biking, walking, access to transit, and connection with nearby trails for the local workforce and their families.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Good news for the South Shore after the California Tahoe Conservancy announced today a major milestone in creating affordable housing at the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe.

The partnership of Related California and St. Joseph Community Land Trust (SJCLT) has been selected to build the community's first modular multi-family housing development. They are naming it Sugar Pine Village.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The next phase of watercraft inspections will begin next week, Lake Tahoe water agencies announced Friday. From June 26 - July 1, and again starting July 6, inspections for the prevention of aquatic invasive species (AIS) will be available by appointment only.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It's Wild Tahoe Weekend at the US Forest Service's Taylor Creek Visitor Center June 21-22! On Saturday it's the Native Species Festival and on Sunday, the 10th annual Lake Tahoe Bird Festival.

SATURDAY

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host the seventh annual Native Species Festival on Sunday, June 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This free family event is at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

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.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host a public tour to announce the proposed action and public comment period for the Meeks Bay Restoration Project on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. The public tour will take place from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Meeks Bay Resort, 7941 Emerald Bay Road (Highway 89), Meeks Bay, CA 96142. The 45-day comment period begins with the publication of the Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Sep. 11, 2018. Comments are most helpful if received by Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host the eighth Wild Tahoe Weekend 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, 2018 at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89. The weekend event consists of the Native Species Festival on Saturday and the Lake Tahoe Bird Festival on Sunday.

The U.S. Forest Service has released their draft decision for proposed improvements to existing skiing and snowboarding terrain at Heavenly Mountain Resort. Much of the work will be done on runs outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin boundary.

Those proposed improvements would include selective widening of ski trails, removing trail obstacles and relocation and/or realignment of some portions of existing snowmaking air and water pipelines to improve user experience, maintain user safety, increase energy and water efficiency, and maintain native species.

Get ready for a wild time as the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) and the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) host Wild Tahoe Weekend.

Join them June 24-25, 2017 at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, just three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89. Residents and visitors are invited to attend this free family event.

In their ongoing battle with aquatic invasive plants in the Tahoe Keys, the area's property owners association has applied for a permit to test herbicides in the lagoon in 2018.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As part of ongoing efforts to evaluate and use numerous tools to fight aquatic invasive plants in the Tahoe Keys, the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association recently announced its plans to apply for a permit for a small-scale demonstration of aquatic herbicides in 2018.

The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and its Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers team are partnering with the Lake Tahoe Outreach Committee and other Lake Tahoe organizations to host community events and educational activities June 6-13. As visitors flock to the outdoor recreation wonderland that is Lake Tahoe the trails, beaches and forests are experiencing an increase in use and the associated impacts of trash, trail erosion and shoreline degradation.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday.

The legislation, created alongside senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Harry Reid, D-Nevada and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., provides federal, state, and local partners important tools to reduce wildfire threats, improve water clarity, jumpstart innovative infrastructure projects, and combat invasive species.

Divers are mobilizing at the mouth of Emerald Bay to start removing 5 acres of rubber mats that were laid on the lake bottom two years ago for a pilot project to control Asian clam populations in the area.

Divers are anticipated to be working in the water through November, so boaters are asked to exercise caution when entering and exiting Emerald Bay and obey a no-wake zone that extends 600 feet from shore at Lake Tahoe.

The Fifth Annual Lake Tahoe Birding Festival at Taylor Creek Visitor Center kicked of the U.S. Forest Service's Wild Tahoe Weekend on Saturday. The activities included information booths and hourly guided bird walks along the nature trail through the wetland; Master Falconer, Marie Gaspari Crawford, brought two falcons and a Red tailed hawk to the event. During her two presentations, Crawford spoke about birds of prey and gave some interesting insight to caring for and living with them. She also answered questions and had the birds pose for pictures.

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.

Children are invited to spend the day with scientists on Saturday, August 10, learning about the unique ecology, function, restoration and preservation of Lake Tahoe. Children’s Environmental Science Day will be held at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences in Incline Village.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will host the third annual Native Species Festival on Sunday, June 9, 2013. Residents and visitors are invited to attend this free family event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has partnered with federal, state and local agencies to launch "Tahoe in Depth" a new Lake Tahoe Basin environmental newspaper.

Mailed to every Lake Tahoe Basin property owner this week, the free publication is designed to keep Lake Tahoe homeowners, residents and visitors abreast of the wide variety of activities taking place to protect and restore the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Lake Tahoe basin residents and visitors are invited to help remove of one of Tahoe's most prolific aquatic invasive weeds, Eurasian watermilfoil, during the first Community Aquatic Weeds Removal Project at Baldwin Beach on Sunday, June 3.

Do you love Lake Tahoe and have an interest in learning more about the lake? Do you enjoy science, learning new information, and sharing your knowledge?

Residents who would like to help people learn about the region's environmental assets and challenges are needed to serve as volunteer docents at the Thomas J. Long Foundation Education Center and the UC Davis Eriksson Education Center. Located in Incline Village and Tahoe City respectively, the two UC Davis education centers are well positioned along the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.

A 16-acre parcel near where Highways 89 and 50 meet is being scoped as a possible and permanent relocation site for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.
The property, known as Echo Creek Ranch, sits in an estate and trust by the late Alex Graf and once had a value of about $7 million during the height of the real estate boom. 

By Peter Brumis
The Tahoe Resource Conservation District has released a series of educational posters which identify some of the biggest threats to Lake Tahoe Basin, as well as what visitors, residents and even kids can do to help. Titled “Tahoe’s Most un-Wanted,” the first three posters feature aquatic invasive species, fine sediments from runoff and invasive weeds, and are free to pick up or request for local schools, businesses and other organizations who would like to display them publicly.