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Nevada County Environment Articles



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Land Trust Launches Campaign to Preserve Jackass Ridge: Conservation, Recreation, and Iconic Views at Stake

TRUCKEE, Calif. – The Truckee Donner Land Trust has launched a fundraising campaign to permanently protect 110 acres on Jackass Ridge—the stretch of open space perched above Highway 89, just south of Truckee. The effort, called the Jackass Ridge Acquisition …

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
Dark Sky Week Is Coming: How the Tahoe Basin Is Preserving and Embracing the Dark

GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA, Calif. / Nev. – International Dark Sky Week is on the horizon, coming up April 21-28. The week leads up to the new moon on April 27, in a push to raise awareness around light pollution, …

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TRPA Releases Connections 2050

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has released Connections 2050, the draft update to the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. The plan outlines a vision for a comprehensive transportation system that will preserve Tahoe's environment, reduce …

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Donner Lake Litter Seminar Yields Actionable Resolutions for a Cleaner Future

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Clean Up The Lake hosted its first Donner Lake Litter Seminar this spring, bringing together environmental leaders, community members, and agency partners to address litter reduction and data-driven stewardship at Donner Lake. The event focused on infrastructure …

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Art in Motion: Trails and Vistas Prepares for 22nd Annual Hikes Through Nature and Creativity

TRUCKEE, Calif. — For Jean Fournier, the landscape of Donner Summit holds more than beauty — it holds memories etched in art.

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Truckee Coat Drive: Elementary Students Take on Fast Fashion Impact

TRUCKEE, Calif. – On Tuesday, April 8, the Truckee Elementary gym filled with elementary students, seamstresses, volunteers and Truckee Community members.

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 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.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
What Does Our Water Picture Look Like After This Winter?: ‘This Year Is a Lesson’

GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA, Nev. / Calif. – April 1 marks an important milestone for snowpacks and water supply forecasts as the date basin snowpacks typically reach a peak before melting. However, a wave of warm temperatures late March started …

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SWEP Honored by TTUSD for 30 Years of Environmental Education and Action

TRUCKEE, Calif. – For three decades, Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships (SWEP) has been at the forefront of environmental education in the Tahoe-Truckee region, fostering stewardship and hands-on learning for students. This year, their dedication was recognized with a Certificate of …

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
California Tahoe Conservancy Acquires Van Sickle Entrance Parcel, Approves Beach Grants, and Water Main at Meeks Bay

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – At the California Tahoe Conservancy Board meeting on Thursday, the board acquired a parcel of land at the entrance of Van Sickle Bi-State Park, approved the Senate Bill 630 public access grants for Regan and Secline …

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
Tahoe Adventure Film Festival Golden Camelot Award 2025

Each year, the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival (TAFF) brings together the Tahoe tribe consisting of athletes, filmmakers, outdoor enthusiasts, and storytellers for a high-energy celebration of adventure culture. Founded by legendary climber and entertainer Todd Offenbacher, the festival is more …

Image caption: California’s farm workers help feed the whole country.
How California Feeds the Country

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
Clean Up the Lake Premieres Docu-Series ‘What Lies Unseen’

TRUCKEE, Calif. – Alibi Ale Works was bustling with a packed house on Thursday night, March 6, where Clean Up The Lake debuted its new docu-series, What Lies Unseen. Patrons enjoyed beer and food as they viewed the first three …

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Truckee Town Council Discusses Opposition to Federal Funding Cuts Impacting Forest Health

TRUCKEE, Calif. – The Truckee Town Council met on Tuesday, March 11, to discuss resolutions opposing federal funding cuts affecting local forest health, wildfire mitigation, and social and economic stability.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
TRPA’s Environmental Threshold Evaluation Shows Improvements in Standards, New Long-Term Goals

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's (TRPA) environmental threshold evaluation report, which monitors the regional plan's environmental factors across 140 indicators, shows that in 2019 to 2023, 75% of the indicators trended positively. The results of the …

Tahoe Guide logo LOCAL NEWS
Clean Up the Lake Premieres Docu-Series “What Lies Beneath”

Removing litter from Marlette Lake. | Clean Up the Lake
A new documentary series “What Lies Beneath” focused on scuba diving to remediate and protect freshwater lakes, will also focus on hidden history, protect artifacts, educate and shine the light …

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
Recent Storm Significantly Boosts Snowpack

GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA, Nev. / Calif. – The most recent storm mid-February has resurrected snowpack levels after January's dry spell pulled numbers considerably below normal.

Sierra Sun logo LOCAL NEWS
Ground Source Heat Pumps: A Cost-Effective Solution for Truckee’s Climate

If you are already bought into the idea that climate change is a real threat to Truckee, if you own a home in Truckee, and if you want to be part of the solution, this article is for you.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
Shaydar Edelmann Joins Tahoe Fund Board of Directors

TAHOE CITY, Calif. – The nonprofit Tahoe Fund announced that Shaydar Edelmann, vice president and general manager of Heavenly Mountain Resort, has joined its Board of Directors. Edelmann's resort leadership experience and deep connection to the Lake Tahoe environment will …

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
How a 3-Legged Coyote Revealed Important Implications for Tahoe’s Wildlife

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Wildlife researchers Tanya Diamond and Ahíga Sandoval at Pathways for Wildlife were initially met with worry after viewing footage of a three-legged coyote on one of their field cameras last March, unaware that this coyote …

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.
California’s farm workers help feed the whole country.
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?