Working Groups: Business and Tourism

Protect Your Drinking Water
By Sarah Mae Tone, IVGID

Local water suppliers at Lake Tahoe are dedicated to providing clean and safe drinking water to our communities. The Nevada Tahoe Water Supplier Association is a united voice advocating the protection of Lake Tahoe from contaminants that are potentially harmful to our health.

Nationally, water suppliers are challenged by sudden changes in pollutant types and quantities entering drinking water sources. Nevada entities, including Kingsbury General Improvement District (GID), Edgewood Water Company, Glenbrook Water Company, Round Hill GID, Douglas County, and Incline Village GID, have met informally over the last 10 years to exchange technical water supply information. In forums, the group discussed new legislation that recommends protecting the water source as an effective way to defend against harmful drinking water pollutants. Dan St. John, IVGID public works director, stated, “It is much more efficient to protect the source than to treat water after contamination.” The group stresses the importance of considering the overall quality of Lake Tahoe’s water in addition to protecting its famous clarity.

Local residents and visitors can help keep our drinking water clean by reducing pollutants that enter Lake Tahoe. Simple changes in daily activities help reduce pollutant loads. These include practicing sanitary boating and jet skiing, using provided restroom facilities, picking up after your pet, conserving water and properly disposing of household hazardous waste. In general, consider the source first. Don’t let anything get into your water that you wouldn’t want to drink!

For more tips or general information visit www.nevadatahoewater.org

last modified: April 12 2005

Look for Tahoe Agua Pura Water Bottles
Tahoe Agua Pura. Drink the water. Help the lake.

There is a new bottled water in town. Its taste is pure, its label is eye-catching and its mission is to help Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe Agua Pura Water Bottle Company is the brainchild of Tahoe Vista’s Rafe Miller, a 30-year resident and co owner of the Lake Tahoe area Hacienda Restaurants. A few years ago, Miller read a San Francisco Chronicle newspaper article about a couple living near Yellowstone National Park who created a water bottle and donated proceeds to park rehabilitation programs. It sparked an idea. Miller decided to sell a Tahoe-themed water bottle and donate the profits to organizations and educational programs dedicated to keeping Lake Tahoe blue and beautiful.

The California Bottling Company of Roseville, California bottles pure water from protected mountain springs on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains and applies the Tahoe Agua Pura three-dimensional transparent label. The look of Tahoe Agua Pura bottles distinguishes it from other water on store shelves. The label includes an image from local photographer and graphic designer Nina Miller that juxtaposes east shore boulders with distant west shore mountains.

Currently, the bottles are in north shore supermarkets, casinos, California State Parks, delis, cafes and gyms. Miller is seeking more outlets. “To raise a significant amount of money, a large volume of water bottles have to be sold,” he says. Donations will go to such groups as the Sierra Watershed Education Partnership, which supports local public school programs teaching students about their environment and how best to protect it, and LTEEC. “Buy the water and help the lake,” Miller urges. “Also, if you like the water, please fill out your supermarket’s comment card encouraging support for the cause.”

For more information, contact Miller, (530) 546-5803 or tahoeaguapura@telis.org

last modified: April 12 2005

National Survey Reveals Environmental Education Challenge
According to a 2002 Green Gauge study published by Roper ASW, (March 2003), about 10 percent fewer Americans are educating themselves about the environment than were a year ago. National security concerns and a slow economy are factors in a six-point drop-off (to 61 percent) of the number of Americans who "sometimes or often read an article, watch a television show or use some other resource to seek out information about the environment." This is the first drop-off in some years. The report also finds that, since 2001, fewer people are regularly:

• saving electricity at home (down 11 percent) to 58 percent of total,
  
• participating in curbside recycling (down 20 percent) to 36 percent of total, and
  
• reading labels on pesticides to ensure protection from environmental risk (down 13 percent ) to 23 percent of total.

A majority of Americans (51 percent) now report that they know little or nothing about environmental issues and problems. This is consistent with a five-year series of NEETF/Roper studies (1997-2001) that show that less than one-third of Americans, including our private and public leaders, have even a passing knowledge of the most straightforward environmental topics.

These data surely challenge the entire environmental education/public information community. Several strategy shifts could be in order to better pursue more environmental literacy and stimulate public interest. The larger "learning landscape" is changing too. Television remains the leading major source of environmental information for adults (62 percent) and kids (72 percent). The Internet is listed as a source by just nine percent of kids but a growing 23 percent of adults.

Schools are placing more emphasis on standards of learning and standardized testing and this may be squeezing environmental education farther out of the classroom which may signal a sharper focus on other educational venues and approaches.

The people of America and the world need more environmental literacy. It is important, at many levels, providing a richer understanding of science and the natural world, developing more respect for the health and needs of people, a sense of protection for otherwise defenseless creatures and natural systems, and guidance on how to better serve our communities.

The Green Gauge Report is available for a fee through Roper ASW at www.roperasw.com.

last modified: August 30 2004

Progress Report on Priority Environmental Education Projects
By John Cobourn and Heather Segale

Tahoe’s educators are collaborating more than ever to get science-based information out to Tahoe’s stakeholders. The common goal is to help people to understand Tahoe’s environmental problems and what we can do about them, and to motivate them to become part of the solution. Since the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (LTEEC) conducted its 2003 Delphi-technique survey to gather and prioritize needed educational messages and programs, several such programs are now underway.

2004 Annual Meeting to Focus on School-Based Programs

LTEEC’s 2003 survey rated schoolchildren as the most important and underserved target audience in the basin. On Sept. 28, the fifth LTEEC Annual Meeting will shine a spotlight on improving environmental education programs in schools. We will highlight success stories from Tahoe schools where teachers are working with natural resource managers and getting children involved in solving real-world problems in their local communities. One of the best ways to get environmental protection messages out to the community is to involve children. (Recycling education provides a good example of the success of school-based programs.) LTEEC’s partners want to connect interested scientists and agency personnel with teachers and students.

Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships (SWEP) has made remarkable progress in establishing place-based learning and service learning in the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District. Following this model, LTEEC’s K-12 subgroup (including the Nevada Leadership Team and South Lake Tahoe Leadership Team) has assumed the lead on stimulating such progress basin-wide. This partnership includes Adopt-A-Watershed, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, SWEP, Marine Research, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, and teachers from Tahoe’s four school districts.

Partners Teach Property Owners How to Install Required BMPs

The second most important target audience/category from the 2003 survey was educating property owners about best management practices (BMPs) for water quality. LTEEC staff has been helping agencies to spread the word about why and how property owners must manage their lands to prevent fine sediments and nutrients from reaching the lake. The BMP Retrofit program is considered the private sector’s main contribution to the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP). Working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Tahoe Resource Conservation District, Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, and TRPA’s Erosion Control Team, LTEEC has hosted five annual Contractor’s BMP Workshops. These workshops were rated as the highest priority educational program of the 55 programs listed in the 2003 educational program survey.

Community Impacts: More than 230 professionals in the building trades attended the 2004 Contractors Workshop. The evaluation survey showed that contractors who attended previous Contractors Workshops have completed more than five times as many BMP jobs as contractors who had not attended before.

Lake Tahoe Report Reaches the Mass Audience

Another high priority for educators was “broad-based, general outreach programs” for the public. LTEEC has continued to air “The Lake Tahoe Report,” consisting of weekly 90-second news segments on the ABC-TV channel in Reno KOLO, News Channel 8. These weekly newscasts have featured over 70 knowledgeable individuals from 35 Tahoe agencies and nonprofits. Each topic has been approved by an advisory group of public information officers and educators. Each TV segment is accompanied by a 650-word article that appears the same week in four Lake Tahoe newspapers. LTEEC has completed 78 consecutive weekly programs and articles. Videotapes of the shows are currently being compiled and edited for use by local teachers.

Welcome Packet Targets New Residents with Messages about Tahoe’s Environment

The Parasol Community Collaboration Environment Team in Incline Village has made progress on a “welcome packet” that targets new property owners. This packet will contain brochures about regional environmental issues and urge new residents to take personal responsibility for protecting the natural environment of their new home. Partners in this effort include the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the Incline Village General Improvement District WasteNot program, the Tahoe Rim Trail, the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, the North Lake Tahoe Demonstration Garden, the Incline Village Board of Realtors, and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. We will target Incline Village and Crystal Bay for a pilot project. We will evaluate program effectiveness and hope to expand the program basin-wide.

last modified: August 30 2004

Lake Tahoe Deserves a Full-Scale Watershed Outreach Campaign
TRPA has recently been engaged in research to determine educational needs and strategies to help us reach our common goal of attaining Tahoe’s Environmental Thresholds. This background information is needed to develop a successful local watershed outreach campaign. A comprehensive outreach strategy was rated as one of the highest priority projects in the 2003 survey.

LTEEC partners, including TRPA, have been working for years to increase coordinated planning for reaching audiences with consistent, science-based messages. LTEEC staff and it’s partners continue to set objectives in a variety of educational arenas, from citizens monitoring and K-12 programs to BMP Retrofit, scientific research symposia, fire prevention, and outreach about the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP).

However, funding constraints have prevented a full-scale watershed outreach campaign from being conducted in the Tahoe Basin. While thousands of dollars are spent each year on worthy research and capital improvement EIP projects, funding for outreach education remains minimal. Unfortunately, there are not many grant sources that will fund outreach and education efforts alone, so funding for these programs must be pieced together. Too often, grant funding is sporadic, and when funding gaps occur or funding runs out, important, effective, educational efforts are discontinued.

Lake Tahoe’s environmental educators are a diverse group. They include hydrologists, soil scientists, botanists, transportation engineers, wildlife specialists, fire prevention specialists, restoration specialists, science teachers, geography teachers, and elementary school teachers. They work for schools, universities, agencies, non-profits, businesses, and advocacy organizations. For many, outreach education is a small part of their job or something they contribute on their own time.

While these dedicated individuals are grateful for the many small grants they have received over the years, they seek a more predictable and sustainable source of funding in the future. They appeal to the elected officials, agency directors, federal, state and local jurisdictions, and to the business community to address this funding dilemma. Since public understanding and support are critical to the success of the EIP, these educators ask the Basin Executives and other Tahoe leaders to work together to determine a way to fund a full-scale, comprehensive watershed outreach campaign.

last modified: August 30 2004

Building Blocks for an Outreach Campaign
Examples of the messages, audiences, distribution methods, and evaluation tools currently being employed by the LTEEC partners are listed below.

MESSAGES

• Avoid wasteful water use
  
• Don’t rake pine needles down to bare soil
  
• Fertilize properly to keep harmful fertilizers out of the lake
  
• Implement defensible space to reduce fire risk
  
• Install Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce the impacts of erosion
  
• Keep lawn areas limited and use native vegetation
  
• Pick up after pets to prevent nutrients and bacteria from reaching Lake Tahoe
  
• Reduce nonpoint source pollution to prevent the loss of clarity in Lake Tahoe
  
• Students should participate in service-learning projects
  
• Sweep driveways into a dust pan instead of using blowers or hosing with water to reduce dust and runoff
  
• Teachers can use Tahoe’s local environment as an integrating context for learning

AUDIENCES
Current efforts are aimed at reaching the following audiences:

• Boat Owners
  
• Contractors
  
• Local homeowners
  
• New homeowners
  
• Pet Owners
  
• Students
  
• Teachers

Future programs will need to be aimed at reaching :

• Businesses
  
• Seasonal employees
  
• Second homeowners
  
• Visitors

DISTRIBUTION METHODS

• Internet
  
• Newsletter
  
• Posters
  
• Presentations (e.g. homeowner associations, classrooms)
  
• Print media (4 Tahoe newspapers)
  
• Publications (i.e. Home Landscape Guide)
  
• Symposium
  
• Television (Lake Tahoe Report)
  
• Video/DVD
  
• Volunteer events
  
• Workshops

EVALUATION

• Evaluation surveys
  
• Focus groups
  
• Longitudinal telephone surveys
  
• Measuring impacts (number of BMPs installed, number of phone calls received)
  
• Phone calls and E-mail contacts
  
• Pre- and post-tests
  
• Web site hits

last modified: August 30 2004

Outreach Education: A Powerful Tool
Outreach education is a powerful tool that can be used in watershed protection efforts.

Outreach programs can help develop an awareness of the value of our natural resources, educate people on what is threatening the resources, and encourage protective action. For example, because polluted runoff is the major source of contamination in our nation's waters, there is a need to educate individuals on pollutant sources and show them how their daily activities degrade water quality. The goal of outreach education is to help change behaviors and promote responsible attitudes in the watershed.

Excerpts from Getting In Step: A Guide to Effective Outreach in Your Watershed (EPA, 2004). http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/gettinginstep/index.html

last modified: August 30 2004

Lake Tahoe is Losing Water Clarity
Lake Tahoe waters have been losing transparency at an average of about one foot each year since the late 1960s.

Lake Tahoe’s exceptional clarity is a result of the absence of suspended sediment and free-floating, single-celled algae in the water. Given undisturbed conditions, the lake’s water quality would change so slowly the changes would be undetectable over a human lifetime. Human settlements and logging activities that began in the late 1880s have contributed to the rapidly declining clarity. Lake Tahoe’s clarity has decreased by more than 33 percent since the 1960s and is steadily declining at the rate of one foot a year. Scientists say that the rate of water quality deterioration at Lake Tahoe has been steady for so long it may become irreversible in 10 years.

Lake Tahoe’s water quality problems are not caused by industry or by wastewater treatment plants. The causes of water pollution are the daily activities of the thousands of residents and visitors in the Lake Tahoe watershed. We all need to learn to reduce our impact on the environment—impacts like erosion, over-fertilization, spills, leaks, and disturbances of soils and stream environment zones.

last modified: December 27 2005

Tahoe Environmental Research Center Proposed
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, were the first scientists to raise the alarm that cobalt-blue Lake Tahoe was turning green. In the 1950s, UC Davis converted the 1924 Fish Hatchery at Tahoe City into makeshift labs to conduct the scientific studies needed in the basin. Since then, the pioneering research done by UC Davis, UNR and other public organizations has helped us to understand the basin’s ecological problems and their causes. If we are to restore the basin’s health, yet continue to live, work and play here, more advanced research is needed. Policy makers are asking for scientific information to help them balance environmental protection with human activities, and to help them identify the most beneficial, efficient use of tax dollars.

To identify the best solutions, Tahoe scientists urgently need a modern research center. UC Davis has raised $13 million in private funds to build such a center and has identified a building site in Lake Forest. In addition to the new research center, the university will restore the old Fish Hatchery and convert it to a public education center.

The new research center would be located on one acre within a 4.7-acre site about one-quarter mile southeast of the hatchery. Before UC Davis chose this site, it established strict criteria for the center location. After two years of examining more than 20 plots of land, a parcel owned by California State Parks proved to be the only one that met those criteria and that was environmentally acceptable. The woods, beach and existing footpaths on the property will remain free and open to the public.

last modified: February 20 2003

Fish Species of the Lake Tahoe Basin
Lake Tahoe Report #151
January 9, 2006
By John Cobourn and Heather Segale

In terms of lakes, Tahoe is a relatively harsh environment for fish. It was cutoff from other bodies of water many thousands of years ago, so as it evolved, only seven species of fish evolved in it. However, since the introduction of humans and human intervention at Lake Tahoe, that number has changed.

According to Brant Allen, fisheries biologist with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, “The original native game fish was the Lahontan cutthroat trout, which is no longer in the lake. But, there are still six native species of fish swimming in Tahoe.” The Lahontan cutthroat trout, named for the distinctive red streak under its chin, once topped Lake Tahoe’s food chain and weighed as much as 40 pounds. This fish thrived in the Tahoe Basin and migrated the length of the Truckee River between Tahoe and Pyramid Lake.

The native fish that still survive in Lake Tahoe include:

· The mountain whitefish (Prosopium willaimsoni) is Lake Tahoe’s only native game fish. It lives near the bottom to a depth of about 100 feet.

· The Lahontan redside shiner (Richardsonius egregious) is a native minnow that is abundant in the shallow shorezone and can usually be seen in large numbers around marinas and rock crib piers. It grows to 3 to 4 inches long.

· The Lahontan speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) is another native minnow that grows to about 2 to 3 inches long. It is difficult to find, as it seeks the cover of rocky substrate on the bottom of the lake.

· The tui chub (Gila bicolor) is a bottom-oriented chub that feeds on zooplankton or sediments on the bottom of the lake.

· The Tahoe sucker (Catostomus tahoensis) is a bottom feeder that grows to about 16 inches long.

· The Paiute sculpin (Cottus beldingi) grows to about 3 inches long. It lives under rocks and is rarely observed in less than 10 feet of water.

The native Lahontan cutthroat trout went extinct in Lake Tahoe in 1939, due in part to overfishing, competition with nonnative species, and the development of dams. In particular, Derby Dam below Reno and Sparks and the Tahoe Outlet Dam in Tahoe City isolated the Tahoe population of cutthroat trout from other populations within the historic range.

Beginning in the late 1800s, when the effects of human environmental changes had reduced the numbers of Lahontan cutthroat in the lake, humans began introducing nonnative fish species in hopes of increasing Tahoe’s yield of game fish. These introductions included lake trout from the Great Lakes, Chinook salmon, Atlantic salmon, golden trout, Arctic grayling, Great Lakes whitefish, brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout. Of these fish species, the lake trout, brown trout, brook trout, and rainbow trout were able to establish self-supporting populations in the Tahoe Basin.

In the 20th century, additional introductions of nonnative invertebrates and fish further altered the Tahoe Basin ecosystem. Using the best available science at the time, exotic species were introduced with the intention of adding a recreational component or supporting an existing fishery. Unfortunately, not all of the species behaved as expected in the clear, cold waters of the Tahoe Basin.

After 70 years of alteration, the aquatic ecosystem now supports nonnative lake trout (Mackinaw) as the top predator. They are accompanied by rainbow trout, brown trout and kokanee salmon, providing multiple recreational fishing opportunities for shallow and deep-line anglers. The native Lahontan cutthroat trout is now among the most endangered western salmonids. Fortunately, as noted above, the other six native Tahoe fish species have survived the planned exotic introductions and continue to thrive within the Tahoe Basin.

In recent years, new threats to Tahoe’s remaining native fish have arisen. A number of warm-water fish species have been illegally introduced to Lake Tahoe, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, and sunfish. While these fish are typically associated with warm-water environments, their populations are able to grow and spread within the Tahoe Basin. Taking advantage of seasonally warm water in bays and marinas, the fish feed on native minnows and successfully spawn.

Scientists from University of California Davis and University of Nevada Reno plan to study the potential expansion of these species, and with help from the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, implement a plan for their control. “The warm-water invasive species appear to pose a great risk to Tahoe’s remaining native species,” states Brant Allen a research biologist for UC Davis. “Their ability to consume large numbers of fish and the apparent overlap with native minnow spawning areas is a big concern.”

Warm-water fish invasions are not new to California. Nearby Lake Davis continues to experience problems resulting from the illegal introduction of northern pike, a voracious predator. Controlling the spread of similar species in the Tahoe Basin could go a long way to preserving native fish and assist the recovery of Tahoe’s once great Lahontan cutthroat trout.

The Lake Tahoe Report is a collaboration between John Cobourn, Water Resource Specialist with University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and Heather Segale, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the University of California, Davis. For more information, contact Heather Segale, (530) 583-3279, or logon to www.lteec.org, www.tahoe.unr.edu, or terc.ucdavis.edu.

last modified: January 10 2006

Bald Eagle Viewing More Likely During the Winter
Lake Tahoe Report #153
January 23, 2006
By Heather Segale and John Cobourn

Sighting a bald eagle is a magnificent experience, especially after the bald eagle’s near extinction in the not-so-distant past. The bald eagle population fell to endangered levels of less than 500 pairs in the early 1960s due to hunting, habitat loss and contamination of waterways and food sources by various pollutants and pesticides, most notably DDT.

There was a similar drop in eagle populations at Lake Tahoe during the late 1980s, when the two nest sites in the basin were both inactive. There are usually only one or two pairs of bald eagles in the Tahoe Basin during the summer. However, during the winter, bald eagles migrate to Tahoe because it is more temperate than Alaska and Canada. According to wildlife biologist Stewart McMorrow, “as many as 20 eagles have been counted in the Tahoe Basin during the winter months.”

Bald eagles live near large bodies of open water, such as lakes, marshes, seacoasts and rivers, where there are plenty of fish to eat and tall trees for nesting and roosting. Bald eagles feed primarily on fish, but also eat small animals, such as ducks, coots, muskrats, turtles, rabbits, and snakes. Occasionally, they also eat dead animals. They are a kind of predator called raptors. They swoop down to seize fish in their powerful, long and sharp talons. They exert approximately 1,000 pounds of pressure per square inch in each foot. They can carry their food off in flight, but can only lift about half their weight. Bald eagles can fly at speeds of about 65 miles per hour in level flight, and up to 150 or 200 miles per hour in a dive.

Bald eagles are monogamous and mate for life. A Bald eagle will only select another mate if its faithful companion dies. They build large nests, called eyries, at the top of sturdy, tall trees. The nests become larger as the eagles return to breed and add new nesting materials year after year. Bald eagles make their new nests an average of 2 feet deep and 5 feet wide. Eventually, some nests become 10 feet wide and weigh several tons. When a nest is destroyed by natural causes, it is often rebuilt nearby. Bald eagles line their nests with twigs, soft mosses, grasses and feathers.

The female lays one to three eggs each spring, which hatch after about 35 days of incubation. Feathers of newly hatched bald eaglets are light grey, and turn dark brown before they leave the nest in about 12 weeks. When they are 3 or 4 years old, bald eagles have mottled brown and white feathers under their wings and on their heads, tails and breasts. The distinctive white head and tail feathers do not appear until they are about 4 to 5 years old. Their beaks and eyes also turn from dark brown to yellow during this time.

Bald eagles are about 29 to 42 inches long, can weigh 7 to 15 pounds, and have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet. This makes them one of the largest birds in North America. Females are larger than males, but both have white heads and tail feathers and yellow beaks.

The bald eagle is our national symbol, so when it became threatened with extinction in the 1960s, people took notice. Strong endangered species and environmental protection laws, as well as active private, state and federal conservation efforts, have brought back the bald eagle population from the edge of extinction in the United States. The use of DDT pesticide is now outlawed in the United States, which has contributed greatly to the return of the bald eagle to America's skies. There are now over 5,000 nesting pairs and 20,000 total birds in the lower 48 states. There are over 35,000 bald eagles in Alaska.

There are several other common raptors living at least part of the year in the Lake Tahoe Basin. One of the most common is the osprey, which is somewhat similar in appearance to the bald eagle, having white markings on its head and throat and a dark brown back and tail. It also preys mostly on fish. Most nests that you see in the Tahoe Basin are osprey nests. Sometimes eagles will steal freshly caught fish from the slightly smaller ospreys.

Forest hawks, which do not fish for food, include the sharp-shinned hawk, the Cooper’s hawk, and the northern goshawk. Such raptors are called accipiters. Other raptors in the Basin include the merlin, the great horned owl, the western screech owl, the flammulated owl, the northern Pigmy owl, the northern Saw-whet owl, and the rare California spotted owl. Red tail hawks also frequent Tahoe, and peregrine falcons sometimes pass through the region.

For more information about the birds of the Tahoe Basin, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/recreation/wildlife/birds.shtml.

The Lake Tahoe Report is a collaboration between John Cobourn, Water Resource Specialist with University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and Heather Segale, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the University of California, Davis. For more information, contact Heather Segale, (530) 583-3279, or logon to www.lteec.org, www.tahoe.unr.edu, or terc.ucdavis.edu.

last modified: January 23 2006

Lake of the Sky - The Lake Tahoe Story
A Robust Multimedia Presentation by David C. Antonucci

Amazing Facts and True Stories About Lake Tahoe:

Lake of the Sky — The Lake Tahoe Story brings the mysteries and science of Lake Tahoe to everyone. Using state of the art multimedia techniques, the viewer experiences an exciting and informative journey of discovery. Accompanied by live narration from a qualified environmental scientist, the audience will explore the mystique of Lake Tahoe. Participants will have greater understanding, leading to a deeper appreciation and lasting memories of Lake Tahoe.

Centered around the most frequently asked questions and mysteries of Lake Tahoe, the 45-minute presentation covers the Lake’s most fascinating and timely aspects. Viewers will learn about the natural forces that created Lake Tahoe and take a virtual dive into the underwater world. They will experience the pioneer movement, follow historic trails and live through Tahoe’s Gilded Age. Using simple and easy to understand concepts, scientific concerns are explained together with the future plans to protect the Lake. Live narration complemented by ample graphics, video and animation scenes make the presentation lively and interesting. The presentation is fully customizable to provide more detail or additional subjects of interest to the audience. Examples are recreation, geology, water resources and biological resources.

• How was Lake Tahoe formed?
  
• How large and deep is Lake Tahoe?
  
• How much water is in Lake Tahoe?
  
• Where does the water go?
  
• Why is it so blue?
  
• How cold is the water?
  
• Does it ever freeze?
  
• Is Lake Tahoe's clarity threatened?
  
• What is the history of Tahoe?

Learn the answers to these and many more exciting facts about Lake Tahoe in Lake of the Sky — The Lake Tahoe Story.

Fees and Charges: Base fee is $295 for groups up to 150 persons in the Lake Tahoe area and includes audiovisual equipment and setup.
About the Presenter: David C. Antonucci is a 30-year resident of Lake Tahoe. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in environmental engineering. He has been directly involved with plans and activities to protect Lake Tahoe throughout his 32-year career and is considered an expert on Lake Tahoe environmental issues. He has served on many boards and organizations dedicated to visitor interpretation and preservation of Lake Tahoe.

Contact information:
David C. Antonucci
Phone: 530-525-5410
Fax: 530-525-7745
Email: dcantonucci@msn.com
P. O. Box 1050
7205 Antelope Way
Homewood, CA 96141-1050

last modified: January 24 2005

Summer Hikes and Outings
LTEEC has compiled a list of guided hikes and outings scheduled for the Lake Tahoe area this summer. This includes hikes sponsored by the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Tahoe Area Sierra Club, League to Save Lake Tahoe, California Native Plant Society and Tahoe Wilderness Institute. You can access the list on our website in PDF format (click here).

last modified: June 25 2002

New Public-Private Partnership to Improve Environmental Quality, Cut Costs at Sierra Ski Resorts
Three-year science-based partnership brings together regional water board,
four ski resorts and business council

With spring in the mountains just around the corner, the Sierra Business Council and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board today announced a unique partnership aimed at reducing soil erosion and improving water quality at ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada. With a steering committee that includes representatives from four resorts (Alpine Meadows, Heavenly, Mammoth Mountain, and Northstar-at-Tahoe), the US Forest Service and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the program is also aimed at finding cost effective ways to manage ski slopes that fit the environment.

“This is a terrific opportunity to build the Sierra Nevada’s natural and financial capital at the same time,” said Jim Sayer, President of the Business Council, a non-profit organization with more than 600 members across the mountain region.

Two-year testing program to start this spring

The Business Council has contracted with Michael Hogan, president of an environmental consulting firm, Integrated Environmental Restoration, to lead a three-year process to test various techniques for reducing erosion on Sierra ski slopes. The first two years will be devoted to on-site evaluation of different erosion control techniques, in cooperation with researchers from institutions such as UC Davis. Test plots will be installed at all four resorts beginning in May. The third year will distill all the lessons learned into state-of-the-art guiding principles that can be used not only in the Sierra but also other ski areas in the West.

Important time for ski resorts and Sierra water quality

The collaborative project comes at an important juncture for Sierra ski resorts. There has been considerable public debate about the environmental impacts of ski operations, highlighted recently by an environmental report card prepared by a coalition of conservation organizations. At the same time, many resorts are adopting “sustainable slopes” programs, which cover everything from slope management to recycling.

The partners in the ski area erosion control project see this effort as a new approach to resort management. “We are very excited by the opportunity to go beyond compliance with environmental regulations, dramatically improve water quality and still offer a high quality skiing experience,” said John Loomis, Director of Operations of Northstar-at-Tahoe.

According to the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, the project comes at a critical time for Sierra water quality. A recent study of the Sierra’s natural environment – the Congressionally-mandated Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project – discovered that almost two-thirds of the Sierra’s aquatic habitats are declining in quality and/or abundance. The report also noted that excessive sediment yield – caused by erosion – remains a widespread water-quality problem in the Sierra.

Says Harold Singer, Executive Officer of the Lahontan Board, “we have a number of planning efforts going on in watersheds affected by the ski resorts. If we can find ways to reduce their erosion impacts on water bodies like the Truckee River or Lake Tahoe, it will be a win-win outcome for the environment and economy.”

The Lahontan Board provided the seed funding for the erosion control project. Although the Steering Committee is fully staffed, other resorts can stay abreast of the project's progress and ask for test plots on their ski slopes. Already, a number of ski areas throughout the West are interested in receiving and using information from the project.

Contacts

· Michael Hogan, Integrated Environmental Restoration, 530-525-1335 or revegetate@earthlink.net
· Martin Goldberg (Environmental Scientist), Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, 530-542-5400
· Amy Horne (Project Manager), Sierra Business Council, 530-582-4800 or www.sbcouncil.org
· Melanie Greene (Heavenly Field Liaison), USFS Tahoe Basin, 530-573-2774
· Lou Cayer, Heavenly Lake Tahoe, 775-586-7000 ext. 6277
· Larry Heywood, Alpine Meadows, 530-581-8299
· John Loomis, Northstar at Tahoe, 530-562-2213
· Clifford Mann, Mammoth Mountain, 760-937-1983

last modified: May 7 2003