In the News

Good News for Tahoe from Federal and State Governments
date posted: August 27 2003

By John Cobourn, Water Resource Specialist;
Heather Segale, Environmental Education Coordinator; University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

The dramatic announcement of a new proposal to guarantee unwavering Federal support for the restoration of Lake Tahoe, unveiled by U.S. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) during a special event at Sand Harbor on August 11th, gives new hope for the resolution of the Lake’s ecological problems. One of the most encouraging aspects of this development is the open support by U. S. Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), and Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Congressmen Jim Gibbons (R-NV) and Jon Porter (R-NV), and Congresswoman Shelly Berkley (D-NV). This bipartisan proposal would lock in Federal support of $30 million per year for ten years, as provided for by the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act.

In addition to this Federal proposal, California, Nevada and local governments have maintained steady progress on their major commitments to fund restoration projects at the Lake. Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn and other high level officials from both States were present to support the Sand Harbor announcement of this proposal.

How is the money being spent? It is sometimes difficult for citizens to understand and appreciate the tremendous amount of research, planning, design and construction skill that go into the many road improvement and other restoration projects being completed in the Basin each summer. Officials from numerous agencies are extremely busy just getting the projects installed correctly. Increasingly, however, they are realizing that they must do a better job of communicating the benefits of these projects to the public.

What follows is a partial listing of some of the types of Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) projects under construction during 2003. These are being completed throughout the Lake Tahoe watershed by Federal, State and local agencies.

Federal Projects
The US Forest Service has been busy with hazardous fuels reduction projects, decommissioning un-needed forest roads, erosion control projects, as well as stream, wetland and watershed restoration throughout the National Forests Lands of the basin. The US Army Corps of Engineers is producing a number of studies and analyses of engineering issues and of the effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration. The US EPA supports programs to reduce Non-Point Source water pollution, the main cause of Tahoe’s declining water quality.

State of Nevada Projects
The Nevada Division of State Lands has led the administration and implementation of EIP Projects on the Nevada side of the Basin, and 76 of 101 projects are now completed or in progress. On August 11, Nevada re-affirmed its full commitment of $82 million to implement the EIP. The Nevada Department of Transportation has completed water quality master planning and design on 21 miles of roads and has completed improvements on 12 miles of these roadways. The Nevada Tahoe Resource Team, which includes representatives from Division of Forestry, Division of State Parks, Division of State Lands, and Department of Wildlife, are working to restore forest health on more than 7000 acres of parkland. This includes efforts to reduce wildland fire risk, improve wildlife habitat, protect old growth, improve health of aspen and sugar pine stands, and protect water quality. Local governments and general improvement districts in Nevada have completed 12 of their 27 improvement projects, with 10 more in progress. Major projects are underway this summer in Incline Village, in Lower Kingsbury, and in Skyland.

State of California Projects
California has so far allocated fully $245.4 million or 82 percent of its total ten-year EIP funding responsibility. Of this total, it has allocated $240 million for acquisition and site improvement projects which are specifically designed to improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, and enhance public access, and $5.4 million for research and monitoring.

Since 1998, 119 separate EIP projects and programs involving the expenditure of $118 million have actually been undertaken by the California Tahoe Conservancy, Caltrans, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Specific achievements include:

• Preservation of more than 728 acres of land
  
• Construction of 79 miles of erosion control measures
  
• Restoration of 985 acres of land for water quality and wildlife habitat purposes
  
• Restoration of 8.7 miles of rivers and streams
  
• Construction of 34.5 miles of new trails
  
• Improvement of public access to 62 acres of lakefront
  
• Reduction of fuels and fire hazards on over 1,400 parcels
  
• Funding worth $5.4 million has been committed to the State Water Resources Control Board, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Air Resources Board for assessing progress in achieving TRPA’s environmental goals and for water and air quality research and monitoring activities.
  

Watch for “The Lake Tahoe Report” in the Tahoe World each Thursday, and tune in to KOLO-TV News Channel 8 Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to learn more. Next week, learn about invasive weeds that are choking out native vegetation in the Tahoe Basin. “The Lake Tahoe Report” is a collaborative effort of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service. For more information, contact Heather Segale, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138, or logon to www.lteec.org or www.unce.unr.edu.