In the News

New TRPA Director has a Vision for Change
date posted: March 31 2004

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

John Singlaub became the new executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) in January. He brings more than 20 years of experience in land-use planning to the agency. Most recently, he served as the field office manager for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Carson City. He has been interested in Lake Tahoe for many years, even studying about the basin during graduate school at the University of Virginia.

Singlaub has heard from residents and visitors who support the fundamental mission of the agency. “The entire community is in agreement that protecting Lake Tahoe is the right thing to do for the benefit of business and the environment,” he says. “Agreement on this fundamental point is so important.”

Singlaub is impressed with the competence of his staff and its enthusiasm for taking care of the lake and the basin’s quality of life. He says he has spoken to many residents who believe one reason the environment at Lake Tahoe is still so beautiful is the existence of TRPA’s regulations. However, he realizes that he is faced with the challenge of implementing those regulations in a way that works for the community at large.

Singlaub recognizes that TRPA has developed a negative image with many people in the past. He is aware the agency needs to improve its permit approval process for fairness, consistency and speed. He is focused on the future and intends to make the necessary changes to improve TRPA’s performance. He considers himself a problem-solver and says, “The good news is, the employees don’t want to work for an agency that is hated. They’re all open and ready for change.”

One reason Singlaub wishes to solve old problems is his desire to get beyond them so that we can focus on bigger issues, such as planning. TRPA is embarking on a complete revision of the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan, which is due in 2007. Singlaub is also enthusiastic about new funding coming to the basin for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), which will build environmental restoration projects “to correct the sins of the past,” as he puts it.

Singlaub insists we must address the problem of increasing transportation gridlock in the basin. He says we must develop alternative modes of transportation, including a world-class public transit system that is based on use of clean energy. He also favors completing bike trails around the lake.

Singlaub also welcomes the increased federal support for fuels management of our unnatural forest. He recognizes that decades of fire suppression activities have allowed a dangerous buildup of dead fuels in our forests, and says his agency will work with the fire districts to develop a fuels management action plan for the entire basin. He also will encourage private property owners to perform defensible space practices and to integrate them into their implementation of required water quality best management practices (BMPs).

Singlaub encourages the public to learn about the specific environmental issues and problems of Lake Tahoe. He wants the TRPA to communicate with the public about what they can do to help protect the lake’s clarity and other resources. He wants us to become stewards of the environment for future generations.

In addition to the arrival of Singlaub, TRPA also welcomed a new communications director, Julie Regan, this January. Regan shares Singlaub’s desire to make changes and solve the problems of the past. Like Singlaub, Regan invites public input and sees the future in terms of the opportunities it presents. With the arrival of Singlaub, she says there is now “a new day at TRPA.”

Watch for “The Lake Tahoe Report” on KOLO-TV News Channel 8 Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to learn more. “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.