tahoe basin

Here is a list of road projects around the Lake Tahoe basin.

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from the junction with State Route 89 to 2nd Street in South Lake Tahoe: Eastbound motorists can expect alternating lane closures from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday for gas line relocation work. Eastbound motorists can also expect the right shoulder closed at the same location from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for trenching.

Cycling in South Lake Tahoe was the focus of the second Annual Cycle Celebration on Saturday. Kids both young and old were at the Heavenly Village to participate in a Bike Parade, Bike Rodeo, Bike Tune-Up station and informational booths.

The celebration wrapped up the two-week long Tahoe Bike Challenge where hundreds of people got out of their cars and biked to school, work and for play.

During Saturday's activities, the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition honored the Town of Truckee and Karen & Pete Fink for their contributions to cycling in the region.

As one can imagine, Donielle Morse has been very busy lately. As the Water Conservationist specialist for the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD), Morse spends her days informing, teaching and keeping up on the new state water mandates.

Drought or no drought, water conservation is necessary and its the reason South Lake Tahoe is faring better than most communities in the West. Since 2007, local water users have cut back 27% of their annual water usage.

The Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee (LTFAC) is scheduled to meet from 9 a.m. to noon, June 22, 2015, at the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor’s office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 96150. LTFAC will address issues related to federal activities at Lake Tahoe.

Items on the agenda include an overview of committee history, review of committee charter, update on status of Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, and discussion of Committee’s future strategy.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

5/31

3:35 a.m. - Noise Disturbance - Cold Creek Trail - DEPUTIES WERE DISPATCHED TO A NOISE DISTURBANCE AT A VACATION RENTAL. THE RESPONSIBLE RENTER WAS CONTACTED AND ADVISED ABOUT THE NOISE.

Here is a list of road projects around the Lake Tahoe basin.

Project: State Route 89 (El Dorado County): Work continues on a $25 million project from the "Y" junction with U.S. Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe to Cascade Road, north of Camp Richardson. Curb, gutter and sidewalks will be added in the 1.1-mile four-lane section, and the highway will be widened in the two-lane section to Visitor Center Road to provide 4-foot paved shoulders on each side. Drainage systems are also being built and the roadway will be resurfaced. Completion is expected by spring 2017.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the Tahoe Transportation District’s State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project to realign State Route 89 through Tahoe City.

The project realigns State Route 89 to route through traffic over roundabouts and a new two-lane bridge across the Truckee River to reduce transportation conflicts among drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians at the congested pinch point at the Tahoe City “Wye.”

The Sixth Annual Native Species Festival will be held at the Taylor Creek visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This free family event is hosted by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and is a great way to spend the day outdoors and learn about the native species of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The Visitor's Center is located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

As the drought begins to impact wildlife, there is concern that California black bears are breaking into Tahoe homes because the lack of rain is contributing to a lack of food.

Now some wildlife activists want to lure those bears away from neighborhoods by feeding them where they live -- in the woods -- even though that practice is illegal.

The activists argue that the drastic action will help the bears survive.

Douglas County homeowners have an opportunity to compost their residential yard waste early this fire season when TDFPD hosts a kickoff event for Compost Your Combustibles with coffee and donuts on Saturday, May 23 at 9am. The free annual recycling program which historically has started on Memorial Day Weekend is now open at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Boulder Lodge Parking Lot.

Jeff Marsolais, the new forest supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, will be speaking at the next meeting of the Tahoe Area Sierra.

Formerly LTBMU’s deputy supervisor, Marsolais, who now oversees the 154,000 acres around the Lake Tahoe Basin, will be speaking on a variety of issues including Recreation Sustainability and Landscape Collaboration.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and comment in an open forum after the talk. This meeting is free of charge and open to the public.

Location

The California Tahoe Conservancy will host an open house at the El Dorado County Public Library in South Lake Tahoe (1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.) to gather public input regarding reuse of the former Alta Mira building site. The primary purpose of the project is to enhance public lake front access within the El Dorado Beach corridor.

Members of the public are invited to stop by the library anytime between 4-6 pm to view concept drawings, ask questions and provide feedback.

Location

A project to remove invasive plants from the Lake Tahoe Basin will continue this summer. The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will eradicate, control, and contain these plants using chemical treatment. Work will occur at approximately 70 infestation sites beginning May 15 and continuing through September, 2015.

The California Energy Commission has approved a $200,000 grant for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to create a Plug-In Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan for the Tahoe-Truckee Region.

The University of California, Davis and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency recently released their yearly water clarity readings for Lake Tahoe. The good news: Mid-lake water clarity improved significantly in 2014, with an average reading of 77.8 feet. That’s 7.5 feet greater than the average reading for 2013, and almost 14 feet greater than the 64.1 feet measured in 1997, Lake Tahoe’s lowest recorded clarity.

Several areas around the Lake Tahoe basin are slated to be burned starting Monday, April 13, as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) continues prescribed burns.

Fire operations are scheduled in Blackwood Canyon between Tahoe City and Tahoma, on the south side of Meeks Bay, at Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive.

Operations may last through the next several weeks as conditions allow at the following locations:

Heavenly - 70.25 acres scheduled for fire operations
Logan Creek Drive - 20 acres scheduled for fire operations

Clarity levels at Lake Tahoe in 2014 showed the biggest improvements in more than a decade, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, who have studied the lake for the last half century.

The improvements are in part due to continuous work from the Lake Tahoe community to lower pollutants to the lake. They were also influenced by the drought, as reduced precipitation meant fewer contaminants flowed into Lake Tahoe, particularly during the summer, when clarity levels were the highest recorded since 2002.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

3/29
3:30 p.m. - Driving without a license - Emerald Bay Rd - A SHERIFF'S SERGEANT ON PATROL IN THE TAHOE BASIN OBSERVED AND VEHICLE CODE VIOLATION AND CONDUCTED A
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT STOP. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE 25-YEAR OLD MALE OPERATOR WAS UNLICENSED, AND ARRESTED.

Learn how to design and install Best Management Practices (BMPs) for homes and small businesses in a series of workshops being presented by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in coordination with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Nevada Tahoe Conservation District.

Due to limited grant funding, this will be the last year the workshops for both the contractor and the do-it-youselfers will be held. The workshops will also be the last time businesses can qualify for the BMP Installation Service Providers List by having at least one supervisor per business attend.

It’s been nearly four years since I moved to South Lake Tahoe and became president of Lake Tahoe Community College. When I first arrived, I heard an earful from community members who were upset about the loss of the Good Neighbor Policy (GNP). This policy was established by the Nevada System of Higher Education in 1988. It made it possible for Basin students living on the Nevada side to attend LTCC at California resident rates.

Expect to see some smoke around the Lake Tahoe basin this week as the U.S. Forest Service continues their prescribed fire operations.

Starting Monday, March 30, 2015, weather permitting, the burning of hand piles of wood and slash will take place in Blackwood Canyon between Tahoe City and Tahoma, on the south side of Meeks Bay, on Gardner Mountain near South Tahoe High School and off Gardner Street, on Luther Pass near Grass Lake, at Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive.

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

Beaches, parks, trailheads, campgrounds and popular Lake Tahoe viewing areas will start opening on April 1 for the 2015 season, almost two months ahead of schedule.

A mild winter has allowed the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) to start opening the popular areas but they won't be fully opened since they won't be fully staffed until closer to summer.

Local rivers may be eligible for inclusions in the National Wild and Scenic River system, and the Forest Service is asking for public comment as they evaluate the rivers in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

A webinar will be held on March 31, 2015 from 4:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. to explain the process being used for evaluation by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU).

The LTBMU encourages public comment as part of the evaluation process, which is in response to objections raised during the LTBMU Land Management Plan revision.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is asking for public input on a proposal to reconstruct the Kingsbury Stinger Trail near Kingsbury Grade. The Stinger Trail runs approximately 2.75 miles from Genoa Peak Road (Forest Road 14N32) to Terrace View Drive on lower Kingsbury Grade and is open to all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and mountain bikes. The trail is very steep in places, is prone to erosion, crosses private land for approximately 280 feet on the lower segment and no longer meets current Forest Service standards for safety and sustainability.