In the News

Public Opinion Research Helps Chart 20-Year Vision for Tahoe
date posted: December 27 2005

Lake Tahoe Report #110
March 28, 2005
By John Cobourn and Heather Segale


Tahoe agencies have gained new information from recent public opinion research about what the public knows about environmental issues in the Tahoe Basin. PATHWAY 2007 agencies, who have agreed to work together to develop resource management plans for Tahoe for the next 20 years, conducted surveys to help guide their efforts.

The surveys showed that the most popular activity among all groups polled was going out to restaurants, followed by sightseeing. The third most popular activity for visitors who live outside the basin was gambling or seeing shows at casinos. For basin residents, the third most popular activity was walking and bicycling, and the fourth most popular activity was hiking mountain trails.

Respondents were also asked to rate the factors that reduce the clarity of Lake Tahoe. Litter was believed to be one of the most important causes by the 1,300 survey respondents who live elsewhere in California and Nevada but do not own property at Tahoe.

Because visitors to Lake Tahoe are sightseeing, it makes sense that they would perceive litter as a problem. While litter detracts from Lake Tahoe’s incredible beauty, it is not causing harm to Lake Tahoe’s famous clarity. Soil erosion, fertilizers, air pollution, and destruction of wetlands are the main culprits. These causes of Tahoe’s water quality decline are not as easy to see as litter. Instead, they are small and go unnoticed as they accumulate, year after year.

The Clean Water Act refers to these cumulative impacts as “nonpoint sources” of pollution. They come from our everyday activities, such as building roads, houses, businesses, and just living here. We cannot turn off the pollution. The only way to reduce it is for everyone to learn how to use best management practices to control the pollution sources on their properties.

Among the 400 basin residents and 100 Californians who own property here but reside elsewhere, soil erosion, runoff, and fertilizers were correctly identified as the top factors in the loss of lake clarity.

The 1,800 survey participants were also asked to rate the most important goals for the future. The highest rated goal for the future was to improve the health of the forest and reduce the danger of wildfires. This is understandable, considering the tragic wildfires that have ravaged Southern California and the amount of attention being paid to wildfire fuel-reduction projects in recent years.

According to Rex Norman, Forest Service spokesperson in the Tahoe Basin, the survey results are good news. “The results show that roughly 90 percent of those surveyed realize that the health of the forest, reduced fire risk and Tahoe water clarity protection are interconnected. That understanding is important common ground,” he says.

Other highly rated goals were to improve habitats for fish native to Lake Tahoe and to improve habitat to promote more wildlife. Most of the native fish in Tahoe have been replaced by nonnative fish introduced over the last 100 years. Human-caused changes in the lake’s food web have made it difficult to restore native fish such as the Lahontan cutthroat trout.

The goal of maintaining the lake’s water clarity at today’s levels was also a top priority for those surveyed. In the minds of those interviewed, the brilliant blue waters of Lake Tahoe appear to be connected to the entire Tahoe experience – a special place where the entire ecosystem is linked. In North America, only Crater Lake in Oregon rivals Tahoe as a large, clear mountain lake.

So, what do these survey results mean for the PATHWAY 2007 agencies? Julie Regan, communications director at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, says that these findings indicate the critical importance of increasing the effectiveness of public outreach education about environmental issues at Lake Tahoe. “We’re hearing consistently from the public that we need to do a better job at sharing information about Lake Tahoe’s fragile environment,” Regan said. “People want to do the right thing for the lake but need more details about how daily life affects the lake and what simple steps can be taken to preserve Lake Tahoe’s amazing beauty.”