Category: Natural World
Tahoe Bears in the crosshairs: Area residents, bruins sometimes uneasy relationship
By Jackie Ginley Ten years ago, when Alpine Meadows was divided over the question of what to do with a well-known local bear, Tahoe Quarterly took a hard look at the conflicts between humans and black bears in the Basin. Residents had fed the bear as a cub, and in the space of a few [...]
Natural Rythms: Winter
By Will Richardson Small but clever, these little creatures have adapted to winter’s snows. Among the mammals that winter-over in Tahoe, squirrels and chipmunks are perhaps the most numerous, and interesting, employing a variety of strategies to make it through the long, snowy season. Like all creatures that stick around through the harshest months [...]
Natural Rhythms: Summer is the season of love for local flora and fauna
Summer is when plants and animals go about the business of reproduction. To that end, they employ a dazzling array of communication techniques, appealing to all of our (and hopefully potential mates’) senses in the process. Here is a sampler of the summer’s great communicators. Songs and sounds Territorial vocalizations attract mates and ward off potential competitors, but those performances [...]
Lake Tahoe’s Best Places to Stargaze
Lake Tahoe boasts up to 300 clear nights per year. The dry air and western on-shore marine airflow pattern are ideal for good “seeing,” as is the low atmospheric turbulence. I have been leading star parties at Lake Tahoe for ten years and have accumulated a list of my favorite sites (complete with exact latitude/longitude [...]
Fishing at South Shore’s Taylor Creek Visitor Center
Rainbow, brown and Lahontan cutthroat trout, Kokanee salmon and speckled dace. You can catch all the fish you wish at the stream profile chamber at South Shore’s Taylor Creek Visitor Center. But leave the barbs and bait at home. The only angling you’ll do at this underwater observation spot is to get a better view [...]
Top Spots to get Starry-Eyed
Lake Tahoe boasts up to 300 clear nights per year. The dry air and western on-shore marine air flow pattern are ideal for good “seeing,” as is the low atmospheric turbulence. I have been leading star parties at Lake Tahoe for ten years and have accumulated a list of my favorite sites (complete with exact [...]
Natural Rhythms: Spring
In the mountains, there is great potential for seasons to clash at any time of year. A few weeks of spring try to sneak in during January. Winter throws in a last storm during May or even June. Most plants are reactive to weather and can get duped by these aberrations, rendering them unreliable predictors [...]
The Tahoe Fund Takes Off
For all the talk of protecting Lake Tahoe, lack of funds, reams of paperwork and bureaucratic holdups often delay getting initiatives beyond the drawing board. Enter the Tahoe Fund. “It’s a nonprofit dedicated to on-the-ground projects,” says Cindy Gustafson, Tahoe Fund president. “We’re about raising funds to get projects done.” A bi-state, Basin-wide initiative, the [...]
Natural Rhythms: Winter
Animal instincts Animals have three basic strategies for coping with Tahoe winters: leave the region, stay active and struggle to find food and stay warm, or shut down. Some animals combine strategies, and black bears are a great example. In colder parts of North America, bears retreat to a den and become inactive, but few [...]
