19 Feb A Lifeline for the Whitebark Pine
Hikers who find themselves on the wind-blasted ridge of Dicks Pass can be forgiven if the main attraction upon arrival is the peerless view of the dramatically unfolding landscape below....
01 Dec Snow Science by Citizens
Scientists studying Sierra Nevada weather rely on modeling and readouts from monitoring stations sprinkled throughout the vast Sierra Nevada range. But recently they have been cultivating a powerful news source of data—thousands of citizen scientists eager to contribute their observations to climate projects....
24 Sep UC Davis Grads to Take on Tahoe Invasive Species with Dog Treats
If you identified water fleas as the central piece to the problematic puzzle of declining clarity at Lake Tahoe, congratulations. And if you named dog treats as a viable solution to ecological problems at the lake, you win again....
24 Sep Aspens Fighting for Survival in the Tahoe Basin
In Tahoe, aspens are gold—both figuratively and literally. Known for their “quaking” leaves, these trees turn striking shades of topaz in the autumn, eliciting admiration and delight from visitors and residents alike. Aside from their attractive appearance, aspens are also a rare and valuable commodity in...
25 Jun Winged Wonders
Anyone who was in the Tahoe region in August 2019 saw butterflies—lots of them. Insects are good at capitalizing on favorable weather and food availability, and last year, conditions were perfect for California tortoiseshells....
25 Jun The Yuba River: From Wild West to Wild and Scenic
The three forks of the Yuba River have been dammed, mined and plumbed, but their beauty still captivates conservationists and recreationists alike...
24 Jun Magnificent and Overlooked
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:...
24 Jun Sierra Stewards
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,...
24 Jun Tahoe’s Evolving Fauna
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....
24 Jun All Eyes on Big Blue
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. Tahoe champions like Jesse Patterson, chief strategy officer of the League to Save Lake...