tahoe resource conservation district

Litter. Dog poop. Unsafe fires. Bear safety. These are just some of the issues impacting our region. Wednesday, the Lake Tahoe Outreach Committee unveiled the Take Care campaign to help reduce these impacts and promote a more responsible use of our great outdoors.

The campaign was designed for use in outreach efforts by public agencies, private businesses and nonprofit organizations in the region. Aimed at residents and visitors, the campaign is a series of reminders that poke fun at the mistakes we all make when we’re not paying attention.

On Wednesday, February 18, David C. Antonucci, author, historian and regional expert on Lake Tahoe, Mark Twain, and the Olympic Games at the Lake, will speak to the Carson City Leisure Hour Club on “Snowball’s Chance: Remembering the 1960 Olympics”.

Top experts will converge at Lake Tahoe in September for the annual meeting of the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, hosted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Taking place Sept. 2-4, the annual meeting brings together officials from across the country in the fight against western expansion of aquatic invasive species. Participants will learn from informative lectures and discussions to foster coordination of aquatic invasive species management among western states. This event is open to the public.

The public will have a chance to learn about agency efforts to address stormwater pollution and get involved at a stormwater symposium on Dec. 10 at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Beginning Oct. 1, boat inspections at Lake Tahoe will move to select launch ramps and winter hours will begin. Tahoe RCD inspectors will be stationed at the Cave Rock boat launch from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, weather permitting.

No inspector will be stationed at Lake Forest boat launch from Sept. 8 through Jan. 2, 2015 due to a rehabilitation project. Inspections will be available at Lake Forest once the project is complete. Please call the hotline for availability of alternative inspection options.

Tahoe Resource Conservation District watercraft inspectors stopped a boat with quagga mussels and an unidentified snail species hiding in the anchor locker, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced Thursday.

The boat, coming from Lake Mead, a known quagga-infested water body, was inspected Wednesday at the Spooner Summit inspection station on Highway 50 in Nevada.

The July 4th holiday and fireworks celebrations always bring a welcomed influx of boaters to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for the 4th of July holiday week, boaters are urged to Clean, Drain and Dry their boats before arriving at the roadside inspection stations in Tahoe to avoid delays and decontamination fees. As a reminder, all stations close at 5:30 p.m., so please plan your travel accordingly.

The 14th Annual Water Quality Snapshot Day will be held Saturday, May 17, from 9 am to 12 pm throughout South Lake Tahoe. The event is a citizen-based environmental effort designed to take a “snapshot,” at one moment in time, of the water quality throughout the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River watershed. Water quality monitoring will take place from the tributaries flowing into the Lake.

David C. Antonucci, author, historian and regional expert on Lake Tahoe, Mark Twain, and the Olympic Games at the Lake, will speak on “Fairest Picture – Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe”, the first and only book devoted solely to chronicling Mark Twain’s experiences in the Lake Tahoe region to the Carson City Leisure Hour Club on Wednesday, May 21.

Nine projects have been awarded grants through the 2014 Lake Tahoe License Plate program, which generated around $350,000 last year from the sale of special plates through the DMV. Grant recipients were announced Tuesday by the Nevada Division of State Lands.

Grants are made available annually for projects that preserve and restore the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board approved a $10 fee hike Thursday for its watercraft inspection, invasive species decontamination program, reduced marina funding for the programs and agreed to close an inspection facility at Homewood, officials said.

The fee hike was one of the changes to the watercraft inspection program recommended by the multi-agency Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinating Committee following a reduction in the federal funding that has helped support the program since it began in 2009, according to a news release.

An innovation in aquatic invasive species protection was unveiled last week at the Water Sports Industry Association’s 2014 Summit that could make Lake Tahoe and recreational water bodies around the nation safer from the spread of invasive species, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency said Friday.

With more than 14,000 inspections made thus far, Lake Tahoe’s waters remain free of new invasive species, a major threats to the overall health of Lake Tahoe and surrounding water bodies, according to watercraft inspection data and scientific reports.

During the 2013 boating season Tahoe Resource Conservation District watercraft inspectors performed more than 7,000 new inspections, including both newly inspected vessels and those with intact Tahoe-issued inspection seals.

Boaters planning to launch at Lake Tahoe over Memorial Day Weekend are reminded to arrive at one of five watercraft inspection stations clean, drained and dry in order to get through the inspection process and out on the water more quickly.

All boats entering Lake Tahoe without a Lake Tahoe wire inspection seal are required to go through a mandatory inspection and purchase an inspection sticker as part of the public, private, multi-agency effort to protect Lake Tahoe from aquatic invasive species (AIS). Inspection stations are located at:

Boaters heading to Lake Tahoe in the next six weeks may experience a short delay when entering Emerald Bay due to an Asian clam control project that will be taking place there.

A team of partners from the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program is scheduled to begin implementation of the largest Asian clam control project in the history of Lake Tahoe on October 15, with plans to treat an area of up to 5 acres at the mouth of Emerald Bay.

The Lake Tahoe Resource Conservation District is calling all boaters, anglers, paddlers, swimmers and water-lovers to attend a talk on September 26, 6:30pm at REI, 2225 Harvard Way, Reno to learn about the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Asian clams, zebra and quagga mussels and invasive weeds like Eurasian water milfoil are just a few of the plants and critters that currently threaten local waters in the Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada region.

The July 4th Holiday and fireworks celebrations always bring an influx of boaters to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for the 4th of July holiday week, boaters are urged to Clean, Drain and Dry their boats before arriving at one of 5 roadside inspection stations in the Tahoe to avoid delays and decontamination fees.

Roadside stations for inspections and decontaminations of motorized boats and watercraft are officially open for the 2012 boating season at five locations entering the Lake Tahoe Basin.
“Boat inspections are critical to maintaining the health of Lake Tahoe and our local recreation-based economy,” said Ted Thayer, TRPA’s Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator. “Through the efforts of the Tahoe Resource Conservation District’s well-trained inspectors and other private and public partners committed to the Lake, we expect to have another successful season.”

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District has released a series of educational posters which identify some of the biggest threats to Lake Tahoe Basin, as well as what visitors, residents and even kids can do to help. Titled “Tahoe’s Most un-Wanted,” the first three posters feature aquatic invasive species, fine sediments from runoff and invasive weeds, and are free to pick up or request for local schools, businesses and other organizations who would like to display them publicly.

By Kristi Boosman
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced the winners of the Lake Spirit Awards honoring "real people making real progress protecting Lake Tahoe" at their first-ever Community Appreciation Day event held on September 29 at TRPA's office.

By Kristi Boosman
Paddlers at Lake Tahoe who enjoy the peace and solitude of skimming over crystal clear waters can now join the Tahoe Keepers stewardship community to protect Lake Tahoe from aquatic invasive species, according to an invasive species multi-agency committee.

By Kristi Boosman
Boat inspectors at the Spooner Lake inspection station prevented a boat with 37 quagga mussels from entering Lake Tahoe on Aug. 7. The boat had arrived from Lake Mead, a water body known to be infected with aquatic invasive species. This incident was the first evidence of quagga on a boat attempting to enter Lake Tahoe this year, according to officials at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

By the Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
The boat launch facility at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe will open March 3.
Boating hours will be 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Monday, through the end of April.

Boat inspectors will be present during these hours with the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program.