What I remember most about that hike near Carson Pass is not the tinseled sparkle of snowmelt streams or the icy dip in a mountain lake. It is what I found growing on a swale of granite that appeared to hold a thimble of soil:...
In a nondescript clearing surrounded by a ring of lodgepole pines stands a monument to the humble origins of a conservation powerhouse. The tucked-away sign—often passed without notice by climbers, runners, mountain bikers and campers—memorializes the initial conservation victory of the nascent Truckee Donner Land Trust,...
On June 9, 2015, the El Dorado County Animal Services received an unprecedented call. They were asked to remove a large rattlesnake from underneath the porch of a home in the Bijou neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe, in the core of the city’s population center....
The League to Save Lake Tahoe engages lake lovers to help combat invasive species The effort to keep Lake Tahoe scenic, clear and ecologically sound has been taken up by an army of advocates who are determined to allow future generations to revel in Tahoe’s beauty. ...
Scientists are studying the impacts of removing non-native mysid shrimp from Lake Tahoe's famously clear waters Replacing one tiny critter that doesn’t belong in Lake Tahoe’s waters with an even smaller one that does could offer promising possibilities when it comes to restoring the lake’s threatened...
For decades forest restoration projects have addressed small areas, but now land managers are thinking much bigger Problems in Lake Tahoe’s forests have been growing for a long time. Now, those involved in solving them are thinking big. A project that’s the first of its kind for...
Tahoe students engage in the battle to stop oil exploration in one of the wildest places on earth Chris Budicin paddles from Arctic Village into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge I almost made it to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in 2003. My friend and I...
Tahoe’s clarity culprit is the historic winter of 2016–17, but climate change raises troubling, long-term concerns for the lake Last year was the worst year for Lake Tahoe’s clarity since anyone started paying attention. That said, it was a fluke. The bigger problem—and it may be...
Nature’s ability to reclaim the slopes of abandoned ski areas depends on the method used to clear them Two ski runs are sitting next to each other. One was cut by a chainsaw, the other a bulldozer. Which one is more sustainable? The method by which...
Tahoe-Truckee residents want renewable energy. Now, how do we get it? Every seat was taken at the Town Council meeting in Truckee last November. The item on the agenda—a resolution for 100 percent renewable energy—was universally supported. Even in small towns, where roundabouts versus stoplights have...