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The Nevada Division of State Lands acquired nearly 3,000 acres of federal land in eastern Nevada, formerly administered by the U.S. Forest Service, that will be added to Cave Lake State Park, officials announced Friday.

Successful conservation actions from a collaborative Lake Tahoe partnership spanning the past 15 years have helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decide Wednesday that Tahoe yellow cress, a flowering perennial plant in the mustard family found only along the popular lake’s sandy shoreline, does not warrant federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Oct. 7, 2015 and beyond.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from a gentleman who I will call Joe. “Joe” said he has been visiting Carson City for over 30 years and liked it so much that he recently moved here from San Diego. He wanted me to know that now that he is a resident he thinks Carson City cannot continue growing or it will be ruined.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, which includes numerous fire and land management agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin, will begin fall prescribed fire operations as soon as weather conditions are favorable, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency this week announced and recognized award recipients for its 25th annual Best in the Basin program. The agency created the recognition program to showcase projects that demonstrate exceptional planning, design, and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the first week of fall beginning Sept. 23, 2015 and beyond. Nevada Department of Wildlife fishing reports for Western Nevada waters are not included.

If you are looking for a good day trip north of Carson City, with plenty of opportunities to fish, photograph, sightsee or shop, climb aboard and take a ride with stops along the way as you head to Plumas County.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Sept. 9, 2015 and beyond. Note: Nevada Department of Wildlife fishing reports for Western Nevada waters are not included as their most current reports have not been updated.

The second Free Fishing Day in 2015 in California will be Sept. 5. The first was way back on Saturday, July 4. On Sept. 5, you will be able to fish wherever you like without the need to buy a fishing license. However remember that you will need to abide by the rules and regulations that govern whatever water(s) you will be fishing.

18th Annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day
Sep 12, 2015, 9 am - 2 pm
Upper Truckee River - Meet at Barbara Ave. and Lodi Ave for shuttle to restoration site.
South Lake Tahoe

Join us for a day of planting, weed pulling, and other restoration activities to preserve and protect Lake Tahoe's watershed. Refreshments, lunch and prizes will be provided.

Bring your reusable water bottle, wear clothes that are comfortable that you can get dirty in, and bring your friends.

RSVP at keeptahoeblue.org/rsvp

The 7-mile trail connecting Ash and Kings canyons in the hills east of Carson City will officially open this weekend with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday.

“It’s very exciting,” said Jeff Potter, a board member of Muscle Powered. “It’s a chance for us to say thank you in a public setting to all the partnerships that were involved.”

The public is encouraged to comment on a proposed land exchange of properties in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The California Tahoe Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service plan two open houses to present plans.

The proposal would transfer Forest Service urban lots to the California Tahoe Conservancy, while conveying some larger CTC parcels to the Forest Service.

“The proposed land exchange would increase the effectiveness of our urban lot program in meeting various environmental and public access goals in the Basin,” said California Tahoe Conservancy Executive Director Patrick Wright.

Lawmakers from Nevada and California met Monday on the shores of Lake Tahoe to discuss how to protect a national treasure as it faces continued threats to water clarity, invasive species, wildfire and drought.

Ever since President Bill Clinton held the first meeting in South Lake Tahoe in 1997, the annual focus of the Lake Tahoe Summit is to protect what Mark Twain called "the fairest picture the whole world affords."

The U.S. Forest Service and cooperating fire agencies will escort fallen U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter Michael “Mikey” Hallenbeck from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., to his final resting place on Thursday, August 13, 2015.
Hallenbeck died of injuries sustained when a tree fell on him during efforts to suppress the Sierra Fire on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Sierra-at-Tahoe will hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday for Michael Hallenbeck of Shingle Springs, Calif. The 21-year old U.S. Forest Service firefighter died Saturday fighting a lightning-caused fire south of Echo Summit.

Known by friends and family as Mikey, Hallenbeck was a Sierra-at-Tahoe employee for the past two seasons and a local firefighter.



Sierra Nevada Forums will host a free presentation on hiking and biking trails in Carson City on Thursday at the Brewery Arts Center Black Box Theatre.

"People who like trails get to use them, and if more people come into town there's better business and tourism,” said Anne Macquarie, moderator of the forum and founding president of Muscle Power: Citizens For A Bikeable and Walkable Carson City.



UPDATE: Sierra-at-Tahoe will hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday for Michael Hallenbeck of Shingle Springs, Calif. The 21-year old U.S. Forest Service firefighter died Saturday fighting a lightning-caused fire south of Echo Summit. Known by friends and family as Mikey, Hallenbeck was a Sierra-at-Tahoe employee for the past two seasons and a local firefighter.

UPDATE: A 21-year-old firefighter from Shingle Springs, Calif., died Saturday afternoon as a result of injuries received while suppressing a wildfire on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in Northern California.
Michael Hallenbeck was a member of Organized Crew 36 on the LTBMU. Go here for the full story.
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The U.S. Forest Service reports a wild land firefighter died Saturday night after being struck by tree in a remote area in the Lake Tahoe area. The following is from Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea:

An updated Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be presented to the public during the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit on Monday, August 24.

This new Community Wildfire Protection Plan was collaboratively developed by the 18 member organizations of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team and is the culmination of a three-year planning effort.

Smokey Bear took time out of his busy schedule Friday morning to tour the Super Scooper, the new Forest Service firefighting aircraft stationed at Lake Tahoe Airport. The scooper has already proven valuable in local firefighting efforts, most notably the recent Kyburz Fire.

11:15AM: Highway 50 is fully opened as more progress is made on the Kyburz Fire. Officials have changed the number of acres burned to 98 acres and the fire is now 80 percent contained. The size change due to more accurate mapping from the infrared flight.
The road is open but motorists need to watch out for firefighting equipment and crews still in the area.
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UPDATE 10AM: CalFire has downgraded the number of acres burned in the Lowell Fire to 1,500 acres. It is 5 percent contained as of Sunday morning. Smoke from the fire has begun move into the Carson City area. Firefighters are also battling the Willow Fire in Madera County south of Bass Lake that also started Saturday. It has grown to more than 1,100 acres as of Sunday morning, closing roads and prompting mandatory evacuations as fire crews worked to protect threatened structures.

The Kyburz Fire in El Dorado County is 30 percent contained as of Friday morning and has burned around 200 acres. Highway 50 remains in both directions.

Fire officials say opening Highway 50 is a priority and are looking at re-opening at least one lane by late Friday afternoon or evening once safety concerns are mitigated.

The Kyburz Fire is located in the canyon of the South Fork of the American River, west of the community of Kyburz. The fire is currently in the lower half of the canyon east of Whitehall on both sides of the American River.

You can look forward to all kinds of serious problems for the rest of this year and well beyond 2015 due to our prolonged drought.

Four remote mountain peaks in central and northeastern Nevada are home to a new real-time camera fire-detection system that is helping to protect Nevada’s forests and rangelands.

A Bureau of Land Management Nevada grant awarded to the University of Nevada, Reno to develop, install, and maintain a remote camera system, is in the initial phase of a five-year planned comprehensive network to cover vast areas of the state for early fire detection and response.

Here is the fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for July 22, 2015 and beyond.

A Bombardier CL415 firefighting aircraft is now at the Lake Tahoe Airport for the summer to aid the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies in fighting fires, officials announced Tuesday.

Nicknamed the “Super Scooper” for its capacity to repeatedly scoop and drop large quantities of water on a fire, the CL415 provides the Forest Service with increased initial attack capability in the Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding forests.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will begin the first phase of the Camp Richardson Resort Campground and Vehicle Circulation Best Management Practices Retrofit to meet current standards for water quality protection and universal accessibility.

Work to remove around 250 trees in the campground on the north side of Highway 89 will begin Tuesday, July 21, 2015, and is expected to last about two weeks.

History shows time and time again our greatest accomplishments at Lake Tahoe are achieved when people work together. In the past, Tahoe was known as a place where unproductive interactions between stakeholders led to a stunning decay in our environment and our economic vitality, creating a region that seemed frozen in time.

This is the second of my three-part series on our recent, 10-day, sightseeing and fishing Alaskan adventure at Juneau and Pelican.