News
Restoring Watershed Function Critical for Tahoe
Editor's Note: Straight from the source (TRPA director). But really, is there a there there?!
A bird’s-eye view of the Upper Truckee River 200 years ago would have appeared much different than today. From the snow-encased headwaters in the mountains west of South Lake Tahoe to the wide, marshy mouth on the Lake Tahoe shore, the wild river found its own path.
When flows were high, the river spilled over its banks and the meadows, marshes and streams were submerged.
The marshy depths of seasonal ponds, the tall grasses, and the tree tops teemed with wildlife. After the spring melt, waters receded. Meadows of wildflowers unfolded before lush stands of forest. These natural processes filtered pollutants that otherwise would have entered the Lake.
The Upper Truckee River is the largest tributary entering Lake Tahoe.
Years of gravel mining, grazing, logging, fire suppression and channelizing have altered the Upper Truckee significantly. It has been squeezed by urban development into a broken system.
Along its banks are golf courses, an airport, bridges and roads.
The waterway skips so quickly over the land now that once-abundant groundwater aquifers are rarely filled. At the mouth, marshes have been converted to a subdivision of waterfront homes.
When flows are heavy, the river delivers a swirling plume of sediment to Lake Tahoe that is clearly visible from far overhead.
While the Upper Truckee River will never be restored to its pre-historic condition, ongoing restoration efforts on it and tributaries all around the Lake Tahoe Basin can and will significantly improve watershed function.
At the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, in fact, we have completed more than 300 environmental improvement projects over the last 13 years related to water quality, scenic improvements, recreation, wildlife and fisheries and more.
Currently, TRPA and its partner agencies have 15 new environmental improvement projects in the planning pipeline.
Three of these projects are on the Upper Truckee. One restoration proposal would see improvements in the Washoe Meadows area where the California state parks system operates a popular golf course.
Several holes could be moved away from the river banks as part of this proposal, which is currently under environmental review.
Two other restoration projects on the Upper Truckee are also at various stages of planning, as are restorations to benefit water quality and other natural values on Blackwood Creek and Ward Creek.
We are also working on erosion control/water treatment projects in residential areas, bicycle trail projects, and forest fuel reduction projects.
These projects are part of a broad effort that gained momentum in the mid-1990s to direct some $1.4 billion in public and private investment toward environmental improvements in Tahoe.
Over the next 10 years, another $2.5 billion in improvements will be sought as part of the next phase of the Environmental Improvement Program and the federal Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009 now pending in Congress.
TRPA actively works to secure these environmental monies for the benefit of the Basin.
Big numbers like these mean big improvements.
Too often at Tahoe when we talk about environmental progress, we only hear about projects affecting our built environment.
It is important to keep in mind that the environmental upgrades to our homes and roadways are progressing in concert with extraordinary work in our streams, meadows and forests.
All of these improvements taken together — to our natural systems as well as our town centers — are needed for positive results. Science shows us that we are turning a corner at Tahoe.
Clarity loss has flattened and modeling tools have been developed to give us refined targets for reducing fine sediment and other pollutants with a goal of eventually returning lake clarity to its famous 100-foot mark.
The desired results of stream restoration go beyond water quality, however, and this is why it is important to support the Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) which funds so much restoration.
Functioning streams and wetlands bring with them healthier and more natural vegetation and wildlife.
As the rivers are slowed down, we see more frequent flooding of meadows during high flows, higher groundwater to recharge aquifers and a more productive food web for fisheries.
Recreational values and natural aesthetics increase by leaps and bounds as well, which circles back to tourism, the health of our local economies and our quality of life.
This clear linkage between Tahoe’s environment and its economy is what connects the restoration of watershed function to the everyday lives of local residents and to Tahoe’s national prominence as an unrivaled natural destination.
To live compatibly with Lake Tahoe requires that we fix the environmental mistakes of the past.
To do so, we must join together and each do our part to improve water quality and to preserve and restore Tahoe’s natural systems and aesthetics.
This is a big part of what we are committed to at TRPA and we are highly optimistic about the intertwined futures of Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem and the communities within it.
To learn more about watershed restoration projects and especially those in progress on the Upper Truckee River, visit our website, www.trpa.org, or contact us for more information.
- Joanne Marchetta is Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. For more information, visit www.trpa.org.
First Friday at Brickelltown is back... just in time for fall
9/02/10, 8:18 am, By Alanna Hughes
- 4 p.m. Friday in Brickelltown
- Bring your cruiser bike (cheaper/better peeps than Burning Man)
Ski Porn season kicks off at Squaw Sept. 18 with Standard premiere
8/31/10, 9:22 pm, By S. Cowley
- North Shore-based snowboard heavies preimere 'The Storming' Saturday, Sept. 18
- Monster'll be there too...
Sorry Burning Man - it's all about the Ski Loft Tent Sale
8/30/10, 7:52 pm, Staff Report
- 8 a.m. Friday
- Bring all your pennies... (what's left of 'em)
REI Summer - Ticker
-Basin Bargain Basement - The bargain of bargains
8/29/10, 8:59 pm, By A. Pridgen
- $105k for starter condo in KB
- Yes, we toured a similar unit in '06 for more than $300k ...actually, maybe it WAS this unit
Bomber pre-season ski sales from local manufacturers
8/25/10, 7:50 am, Staff Report
- From Praxis Powderboards to Moment Rubys ...to a surprise entry
- It's time to buy local... buy new
Skiing is no more
8/22/10, 11:47 am, Staff Report
- RIP Skiing Magazine
- ...Are you next, SKI?
Date set for 7th annual Downtown Truckee Wine Walk And Shop
8/22/10, 9:25 am, Switchback PR
- Filling up that fall calendar yet?!
- Well, here's where to start
REI Summer - Ticker
-Squaw to host SATELite Festival in September
8/22/10, 7:28 am, By A. Richmond
- New outdoor(ish) event pronounced 'satellite' ...not 'Sate-lite' like we orig. thought
- ...Not 100 percent sure what it is — but ncludes wine, so we'll be there
Tahoe Mountain Sports gets you warm for Ski Loft tent sale
8/20/10, 6:44 pm, By Lis Korb
- First come tent sales... then ski porn premiers
- Then (gulp) snow... are you ready?!
Legendary Incline bear featured in WSJ
8/18/10, 8:31 pm, Staff Report
- Free BUBBA
- That's right - It's our fault... not the bear's... but is that what the Journal thinks?!
Trail Building Backcountry Camps
8/17/10, 8:49 pm, TRTA
- Get on those trails
- ...and get your build on Saturday and Sunday (and again Labor Day weekend)
REI Summer - Ticker
-Win an iPad from IVGID
8/15/10, 7:03 pm, Staff Report
- Golf, ski, beach, compute
- repeat
Squaw creates new top marketing position... sale rumors spark again
8/10/10, 8:18 pm, Staff Report
- Wait, Squaw CREATED a position...
- Ok, something's definitely going down... (25-year industry vet Scott Clarkson tapped as VP of Marketing and Sales)
Jim's trip ...halfway... round The Rim
8/07/10, 1:16 pm, By. A. Pridgen
- Hammerel raises triple his goal amt. to benefit the TRT
- ...and tears up his knee
Volunteer trail-building workdays with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association
8/05/10, 7:45 am, TRTA
- You heard about Jim Hammerel's mission to speed-traverse the TRT
- Now you can pitch in too
REI Summer - Ticker
-Goodbye Norm
8/03/10, 8:08 pm, By A. Pridgen
- The Godfather of Incline, Norm Rosenberg, passes - he was 92
- Incline's left-leaning champion leaves legacy ...starting with the library
Test drive a Tesla... before it's too late
8/01/10, 9:30 pm, By A. Pridgen
- Tesla, the Palo Alto-based electric car company has gone through more than $300 million VC $
- ...but still hasn't tapped into Uncle Sam's reserves for the Model S - go check it out at the Hyatt
Sugar Bowl dining room and Belt Room Bar open for business
7/30/10, 10:22 am, By John Monson
- Good grub, great views
- And nothing beats Belt Room post PCT
Ultimate Frisbee - ultimate course
7/27/10, 8:56 pm, By A. Richmond
- Squaw opens disc golf course
- Signature hole (no. 4) has 1080' downhill... wow
REI Summer - Ticker
-Squaw's MTB park open for first time since '03
7/23/10, 7:22 pm, By Amelia Richmond
- 2k feet of single-track
- 'K, we're in
Remembering Kenny Guinn
7/22/10, 10:08 pm, Staff Report
- The man who created the Milennium Scholarship and SNPLMA passed away Thursday
- Guinn, who oversaw Nevada during its most prosperous years, was 73
Lokal boy makes good - former PlumpJack star Edge shines in Sonoma
7/20/10, 6:23 pm, By A. Pridgen
- Rick Edge takes saucy edge down to downtown Sonoma
- Lokal is the (new) place to be and PlumpJack alum makes it so
Tahoe skier visits were estimated to be up 17 percent last winter
7/19/10, 8:40 am, Staff Report
- Numbers of skiers on the hill increased - but overall spending stayed modest
- Cheap passes the plan again for 2010-'11
REI Summer - Ticker
-Cushing steps down from Squaw post ...rumors of sale sparked
7/13/10, 6:06 pm, Staff Report
- Former Intrawest exec takes over
- ...Rumor mill turning overtime: is Cushing family getting ready to bounce?
TRPA's Asian clam bake
7/11/10, 9:19 pm, By Jeff Cowen
- $1.4 million effort to eradicate invasive species from the lake...
- And it involves (no joke) laying a rubber mat on the lake's floor... hi-tech
Kids' zip line at Squaw ...Boo ya
7/08/10, 5:12 pm, By A. Richmond
- KT zip line
- What about for the grown-ups?!
Just like that ...red flags are up
7/06/10, 6:22 pm, Staff Report
- Three-year anniversary of Angora looms ever-present
- Thunderstorms Wednesday/Thursday portend danger
REI Summer - Ticker
-Nevada County approves PR firm's contract the same week it OKs budget cuts
6/30/10, 9:19 pm, Staff Report
- Wait a minute - you're saying Tahoe will spend more than a million dollars this year on, sloganeering...
- Meantime, budget cuts include child care, welfare-to-work and MediCal programs ...nice
Truckee's Lautner drops a PCT hiking book
6/28/10, 8:55 pm, Staff Report
- 32 eco-friendly trips on the Sierra stretch of the PCT ...with GPS coordinates
- Two thumbs up - pick it up...
Lake Tahoe Based Russian-American Partnership turns 20
6/24/10, 11:27 am, By TBI
- Tahoe-Baikal Institute celebrates two decades of watershed protection and cultural exchange
- Political and economic ups and downs notwithstanding
Tour de Nez photo gallery
6/22/10, 8:20 pm
- The weekend that was from Reno to Northstar
- And lots of Nash
REI Summer - Ticker
-Rebuild the Rim Trail every summer Saturday
6/11/10, 9:07 pm, TRTA
- Start summer right by giving your most precious gift
- ...Your time
TRPA tries to clarify
6/01/10, 8:30 pm, By Dennis Oliver
- So, what, if anything, does this have to do with Boulder Bay?!
- ...More importantly how 'bout that casino (strip club?) corridor...
Opinion ...TRPA ensures Tahoe times they area a-changin'
5/22/10, 8:35 pm, By Ann Nichols
- Density to increase under proposed TRPA regional plan
- But, will they build it (or will they come?)
TAUs on the table from TRPA
5/14/10, 10:08 pm, Staff Report
- If you don't understand the headline
- ...Go the the May 26 meeting and you'll see puh-lenty
REI Summer - Ticker
-Cal Neva now in TRPA doghouse
5/09/10, 6:49 pm, Staff Report
- TRPA will handle foreclosed property with kid gloves over more than a decade of flunking its eco report card
- Time to blow everything up but the casino floor, Sinatra Showroom, the lakefront cabins and the Indian Room
Celebrate National Trails Day with the Tahoe Rim Trail
5/06/10, 5:33 pm, TRTA
- Build a trail
- ...Get a free lunch
Save Martis Valley - one click at a time
5/04/10, 7:13 pm, By Renee Deinken
- Well, it's not like Martis Valley is in any danger of getting developed by broke-ass East/West
- ...But still good to preserve; Check out the new site
LTVA spends almost a mil. on slogan ending in preposition
5/02/10, 8:21 pm, By A. Pridgen
- That's right, your new slogan to lure Affliction-wearing d-bags to Stateline's new strip club
- ...'Get your vacation on' (ohh noo). Inside: Our five (free) slogan suggestions ...Holla
REI Summer - Ticker
-Cost of doing nothing too high for Tahoe
4/29/10, 8:22 pm, By Joanne Marchetta
- If you can make it through TRPA director's tome...
- We'll have resident feedback for you Friday
No downhill slide for Diamond Peak
4/09/10, 7:00 am, Staff Report
- While others founder
- ...DP in the black and breaking ground on new $4 million admin/ticket/locker/child ski center building
Foreclosed Cal Neva casino goes dark ...for good
3/24/10, 10:32 pm, By A. Pridgen
- One year after 'no-sale' at a foreclosure auction and interim management team shuts down Nevada's most legendary casino
- ...Sad, sad day... Casino doors to shut March 31 - rest of Basin gaming on life support
And yes ...the KB roundabouts were originally scheduled to be complete this summer
1/27/10, 9:35 pm, Staff Report
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency board votes unanimously (again) to approve three-lane/roundabouts in KB
- ...Yes, you've heard that (here) before
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