El Dorado County Environment Digest

California lawmakers passed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, permanently protecting the iconic and imperiled species.

Summer fire restrictions are now in effect for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District serving the communities of the Tahoe Township, until further notice.

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced $3.1 million in funding she secured for Lake Tahoe in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prevent and combat the spread of aquatic invasive species in the lake through the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program.

Estimated opening dates for several popular high-elevation recreation sites on the Plumas National Forest are still tentative and will depend on the amount of damage from winter storms and snow loads.

An unprecedented group of Lake Tahoe destination management, land management and nonprofits launched the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan with the signing of an agreement to create the first stewardship council for the region.

The high temperature of 54 at South Lake Tahoe was cold enough to break an almost 30-year record.

The State of California will provide new protections for prescribed fire and cultural burning practitioners. The $20 million allocated for the Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund Pilot will cover losses in the rare instance that a prescribed or cultural burn escapes control.

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board awarded a $1 million grant to the city of South Lake Tahoe to continue constructing the Tahoe Valley Greenbelt and Stormwater Improvement Project.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is highlighting native species protection programs and legal and safety requirements below ahead of boating season to improve safety and protect Lake Tahoe’s environment and native ecosystem.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has implemented a new policy recognizing the ecological benefits of beavers while mitigating conflict over damage to land and property (depredation).

The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana ruled the U.S. Forest Service can continue to use aerial fire retardant to fight wildfires while waiting on a Clean Water Act permit.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe (aka Keep Tahoe Blue) hosted a training course for the people working where the public meets the lake—at marinas and boat ramps—so key information about aquatic invasive species can be shared.

The council was presented with two potential plans for the city to buy hundreds of tons of green waste a year: a free compost program or an agreement with an energy producer that would use biomass fuel.

The inaugural Lake Tahoe Litter Summit, hosted by nonprofit Clean Up the Lake, brought together 50 of Lake Tahoe's agency leaders and citizens fighting litter in the basin.

The Holman Arts and Media Center invites artists of all skill levels to Lake Tahoe for its 39th season of the Summer Arts Workshops, beginning June 26.

El Dorado County is preparing a draft environmental impact report for the proposed community park in Diamond Springs on which the public comment period will continue through June 16.

California legislative committees in the Assembly and Senate blocked two big climate bills. One would have made the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets more ambitious. Another would have allowed people to sue oil companies over health problems if they meet certain criteria.

Community leaders and elected officials gathered for Tahoe Chamber's State of the South Shore to discuss various issues, including “snowmaggedon,” “potholemaggedon,” and problems caused by vacation home rentals.

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto passed legislation to protect Lake Tahoe and Nevada's Ruby Mountains through the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe's plan to redevelop an aging office building into a new environment and education center, as well as the organization's headquarters, is building momentum.

A magnitude-5.2 quake was recorded in Northern California May 11 in Plumas County, about 6 miles east of Lake Almanor.

Photographs have been flowing into the Tahoe Tribune email featuring bobcats that have been spotted around the region, leading the newspaper to explore whether there are more of the felines in the area.

The city of South Lake Tahoe has begun phase one of converting pedestrian lights along the U.S. Highway 50 corridor to fixtures that minimize light pollution in the night sky.

A familiar frog has found a favorable foothold in foothill freshwater thanks to efforts by the U.S. Forest Service in the Georgetown Ranger District of the Eldorado National Forest.

The U.S. Federal District Court of Montana heard oral arguments April 17 for the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics’ lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service for the service’s discharging of fire retardant into national waters.

The California Tahoe Conservancy is closing the Upper Truckee Marsh to dogs—a seasonal closure that protects birds and other wildlife during the breeding season.

Ducks Unlimited’s mission is to conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl. A new partnership will allow Watchable Wildlife to continue its mission of helping Californians experience nature.

And neither was 1952. The top honor should really go to 1983, which clinched first at 231% of normal, an analysis by the Bay Area News Group found.

The mantra “Keep Tahoe Blue” has become synonymous with the region. But far fewer people know the history of the movement it represents. Here’s a glimpse of the story behind the sticker.

For the last five months of 2022, Lake Tahoe was the clearest it has been since the 1980s. That is due in part to a resurgence of the lake's native zooplankton.

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center is sponsoring its third annual circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe, a kayaking journey that takes place June 19-25.

According to a new study, ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles won’t recover to pre-drought densities. But there’s less risk of another huge die-off this century because the bark beetles will have fewer host trees.