Tahoe Truckee Region Sustainability Digest

Stanford scientists have genetically re-programmed plants to grow roots that change how they gather nutrients or water.

The plan is not only a first for the county but also one of the first in the state to integrate solutions for adapting to extreme weather, wildfire, drought and other impacts as part of planning for parks and recreation amenities.

Spring runs of a large minnow numbering in the millions have nourished Pomo Indians since they first made their home alongside Clear Lake more than 400 generations ago.

This fall almost two months of work went into restoring the degraded Calf Pasture Meadow on the back side of Desolation Wilderness, impacted by decades of cattle grazing, road construction and logging.

North Lake Tahoe is taking strides in adapting green business practices, and the California Green Business Network’s Sierra Chapter is gaining traction in the Truckee community.

Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk.

The case for nuclear power as a climate solution got a big boost when the Biden administration announced it's giving Pacific Gas & Electric Co. a $1.1-billion grant to help the company keep operating California's last nuclear plant.

A dozen independent fish scientists are calling for urgent changes to sport fishing rules to save California’s largest freshwater fish after an unprecedented red tide this summer left hundreds of them dead.

For eight straight days this summer, farmers in far Northern California drained almost all of the water out of a river in defiance of the state’s drought regulations. The move infuriated environmentalists and salmon-dependent Native American tribes downstream.

PG& E has formally asked the state to postpone closure of Diablo Canyon until 2030; California’s last nuclear plant provides 9 percent of the state’s electricity.

Wildfires, drought, extreme heat and other effects of climate change are compounding in California, according to a report from state scientists.

The California Tahoe Conservancy has awarded two grants to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

As drought drives prices higher, families are facing water bills of more than $200 a month. With 1 in 10 households behind on water payments, calls are mounting for the state to step in and help.

The South Tahoe High Climate Crew Club and Key Club posed questions about housing issues and environmental threats to this year’s candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council.

BEBOT got its first test run on Tahoe’s beaches: it's a solar-powered, tank-treaded cleaning robot that removes trash. One mission by this real-life WALL-E on a pre-cleaned beach unearthed 2,000 pieces of plastic.

A study by researchers at UCLA and the University of Chicago says that California’s wildfires of 2020 destroyed 4.2 million acres of forest—and erased years of progress the state made on battling climate change.

Ex-Marine Bill Camarillo, CEO of Agromin, forecasts the future of greenwaste recycling, essential for reducing landfill and restoring the soil. He notes SB 1383 will disrupt the current market, but that’s good news: “We have to inspire people to do the right thing.”

Incline Village’s Carolyn Usinger, known for picking up litter on highways around Lake Tahoe, has created a program for others to join in. She also offers recommendations to alleviate the amount of trash left in the basin. “I’ve been thinking about how to engage the community in reducing the trash overall,” she says.

California will become the first state in the nation to phase out single-use plastic produce bags in supermarkets. The receptacles must be replaced no later than Jan. 1, 2025 with bags made of recycled paper or compostable plastic.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council on Sept. 20 approved the first reading on an ordinance that would ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles of less than one gallon. The rules would go into effect on April 22, giving businesses time to sell the stock they currently have.

While the drought situation is critical across California and Nevada, it isn’t nearly as perilous in Tahoe/Truckee currently. But the long-range effects for the local land are a different beast with increasing tree die-offs, shrinking snowpack, and ever-graver wildfire threats.

The nonprofit group SaveTahoeBeaches.org wants to raise awareness of the growing problem of algae proliferation in Lake Tahoe, which causes foul odors and unkept beaches.

The Joint Interim Committee for Oversight of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Marlette Lake approved recommendations that would pump millions into projects in the Tahoe Basin. The vote was unanimous among Senate and Assembly members.

The American River Basin will see increasing temperatures and a declining snowpack through the end of the 21st century, according to a study released by the Bureau of Reclamation. Also, variability of fall and winter precipitation will amplify the severity of droughts and flooding.

Through the program “Be a Hero and Clean up Tahoe,” the Incline Village General Improvement District is working with local residents to create opportunities to pick up trash and help keep the North Shore clean.

Clean Tahoe, Incline Village Waste Not, South Tahoe Refuse and League to Save Lake Tahoe have joined together for Tahoe's Trash Pickup Challenge. For the whole month of September, volunteers can help make Tahoe litter free.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board has recognized seven projects and programs for exceptional environmental design and stewardship of Lake Tahoe.

Below the Blue, a nonprofit that works to remove debris from bodies of water, came on the scene in 2020. But its founders have a much longer history in Lake Tahoe.

The 26th annual Tahoe Summit brought together local government, public agencies, activism groups and local residents to discuss the state of the Lake Tahoe Basin and the surrounding forests. The event was put together by a multitude of agencies, with booths throughout the Sand Harbor parking lot.

A new sawmill to be constructed near Carson City is expected to produce about 50 million feet of lumber per year, and the first purchase was from salvage and cleanup efforts at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors has voted to create the North Tahoe Truckee Biomass Task Force, which explore establishing a facility in North Lake Tahoe to create renewable energy or heat by converting wood scraps left over from forest clearing and defensible space efforts.

It’s been 10 years since scuba divers Seth Jones and Monique Rydel-Fortner first spotted old, lead-coated AT&T cables in the depths of Lake Tahoe while diving in Emerald Bay. A settlement last fall called for their removal, but they’re still underwater.