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El Dorado County Environment Articles



Image caption: This 6,000 square foot structure, a two-boiler system, will help dispose of dangerous biomass by burning wood chips to boil water, providing heat to buildings in Northstar Village.
Transforming Waste Wood from Wildfire Hazard to Energy

For the good of Tahoe Truckee forests and communities, funders & local leaders rally to support Northstar Community Services District wood energy facility.

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‘Plastics Are Not the Tahoe Way’

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The City of South Lake Tahoe's single-use water bottle ban goes into effect for commercial vendors on Earth Day, April 22.

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Call for Nominations for 2022-2023 Best in Basin Awards

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is calling for nominations for projects completed in 2022 or 2023 that display outstanding environmental design to be recognized in the 31st annual Best in Basin awards program. Nominations are due …

Image caption: California has a goal of 6 million heat pumps cooling and heating buildings by 2030.
6 Million New Heat Pumps: Essential to California's Climate Future

Heat pumps, an energy-efficient way to both heat and cool homes, are a necessary element of California's climate goal of net zero carbon emissions. Here's what they are, how they work, and how to get one.

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Forest Service Announces Decision for Burke Creek Restoration

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in partnership with the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, issued the final decision for proposed restoration of Burke Creek on Lake Tahoe's southeastern shore. The purpose of …

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The Remarkable Return of Sandhill Cranes

As spring returns to Lake Tahoe, a story of resilience and resurgence is also unfolding. It's the migration of the Sandhill Cranes – magnificent birds that once upon a time had all but vanished from the Tahoe region.  

Image caption: A beaver dam and pond in the eastern Sierra.
Beavers Can Help Stop Wildfires

Beavers create unburned islands where plants and animals can shelter from megafires, research has confirmed. A movement is afoot to reintroduce the rodents to the state's waterways.

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Calif. Division of Boating and Waterways Offering Grants for Quagga, Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Programs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California State Parks' Division of Boating and Waterways is offering grant funding to prevent the further spread of quagga and zebra mussels into California's waterways. Funded by the California Mussel Fee Sticker (also known as the Quagga …

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Tahoe Lead: Community-Led Effort to Remove Decades-Old Lead Cables Threatening Lake Tahoe

RUBICON BAY, Calif. – The drive from South Lake Tahoe to the West Shore is filled with breathtaking views of crisp blue water, rugged alpine shores, and lakefront homes scattered throughout the treacherous landscape; but something is lurking below the …

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Team Tahoe Members Urge Congress to Extend the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act

WASHINGTON D.C. – With the expiration of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2016 looming just around the corner, several community leaders from Lake Tahoe traveled to Washington D.C. to urge lawmakers to extend the act.

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Mountain Counties Water Resources Association Adopts Forest Management Principles to Solve Effects of Mega Wildfire

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – In early February 2024, the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association, also known as MCWRA, adopted new "Forest Management Principles," with the goal to solve the ongoing problem and severe effects from California's mega wildfires.

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Unlocking Tahoe’s dirty secret: Data from a multiyear monitoring project

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Clean Up The Lake, the environmental non-profit responsible for the 72-mile cleanup of Lake Tahoe, has recently completed a two-year monitoring effort on the lake. CUTL conservation dive teams revisited 20 litter hotspots in the 0 …

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Tahoe Regional Planning Agency proposed climate code amendments

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Tahoe residents may be seeing more electric charging stations, additions to solar code, and traffic plans for large events.

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California Tahoe Conservancy awards $600k to support joint Forest Service-Washoe Tribe Project at Máyala Wáta (Meeks Meadow)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The California Tahoe Conservancy Board has awarded a $600,000 grant to the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), for forestry operations as part of its joint project with the Washoe Tribe of …

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Clean Up The Lake Echo Lakes Pilot research returns positive results

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Clean Up The Lake, a 501(c)3 environmental nonprofit, completed their first SCUBA enabled pilot research project in Echo Lakes, California to evaluate litter accumulations and survey for aquatic invasive species (AIS). 

Image caption: Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is both the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.

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Businesses taking a pledge towards the sustainability of Lake Tahoe’s environment

The Lake Tahoe Basin is a host to quaint mountain towns, unique experiences, and endless outdoor recreation. With tourism continuously at the forefront of Lake Tahoe communities, progressive environmental efforts are essential towards the sustainability of keeping the Lake Tahoe …

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Silicon Valley Billionaires vs. Bay Area’s Housing Crisis?

In NYT’s “The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted,” we meet a man who wants to build a city in the middle of nowhere, and folks who are slowing him down.

Image caption: The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land

How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.

Image caption: The roundabout joining Highway 12 and State Route 113 in Rio Vista, just south of the site for a proposed new city of 400,000 people.
Solano County May Get to Vote on New City in November

California Forever, the company behind a proposed new city in Solano County, will submit a ballot measure seeking an exemption from local laws to allow development on the massive project to proceed.

Featured

A smoky blanket of particulate matter hovers over San Francisco’s skyline.
Getting Acquainted With AQI
Learn what's getting into Californians’ lungs and why it matters.
A Pyrocumulus cloud generated by the Dixie Fire in July, 2021.
What is Fire 'Containment?' That and Other Terms, Explained
What does it mean when firefighters call a fire "contained?" Here's a brief guide to commonly used fire prevention terminology.
Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained
There are many causes contributing to this crisis. And as you may already know, this situation really is nuts.
RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt
RCDs were created to avoid a repeat of the Dust Bowl. Now they work with landowners to preserve the air, water and natural habitats that sustain us all.
Mosquitos kill about 725,000 people every year, worldwide.
Taking a Bite Out of the Mosquito Population
How local government tries to control the world’s deadliest wild animal—the mosquito.
Supercell storms are just one of many weather phenomena in the era of climate change.
The New Vocabulary of the Climate Change Era
As climate change causes more extreme and unusual weather, we need a new set of terms to describe the various phenomena
Over two weekends last October, residents of Santa Cruz and Watsonville  participated in demonstration rides aboard an electric streetcar on rails.
The ‘Rail Trail’ Movement, Explained
The heated controversy over what to do with abandoned railroad tracks
Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals
How the sun is helping push the state toward 100 percent renewable energy.
Just because record rains have been falling, the state’s water crisis remains.
What Is Drought? Probably Not What You Think
Recent torrential rains have helped, but California's drought is a long way from over.
From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis
In a state that declares water a “human right,” more than 2 percent of its residents have no drinkable water.
They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country
California, a state known for high-tech and show business glitz, is also America’s farming powerhouse.
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Kerry Wood, CEO of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, says the organization researches areas of need to help donors direct their contributions.
What Is a Community Foundation?
By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.
Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment
The hidden price tag of “reclaiming” swamps and marshes as usable land.
The Pajaro River levee broke during the 2023 atmospheric river storms, flooding the town of Pajaro.
Is California Ready for More Extreme Weather Driven by Climate Change?
Increasingly extreme weather events are already testing California’s preparedness.
Since 1972, the California Coastal Commission has ruled over the state’s shoreline.
California Coastal Commission: Where It Comes From, What It Does
How a nuclear plant, a real estate development and an oil spill led to a landmark law.
Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage
For renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to be viable, ways to store the power they create are essential.
The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land
Starting in 1976, the legislature began creating agencies to buy up open land, and keep it open.
California has a goal of 6 million heat pumps cooling and heating buildings by 2030.
6 Million New Heat Pumps: Essential to California's Climate Future
Installing 6 million heat pumps by 2030 is essential if California is to reach its goal of net zero carbon emissions.
Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law
54-year-old environmental law is often blamed for causing the state’s housing crisis. Is it getting a bad rap?
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