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 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...
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 clarity. At iconic Emerald Bay, scientists are studying ways to reduce the abundance of mysid shrimp,...
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 the Tahoe Basin is now being pursued by a broad-based coalition of scientists, land managers and...
I almost made it to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in 2003. My friend and I had packed up her truck and left our Alpine Meadows home for a long road trip to the Land of the Midnight Sun. She was saying goodbye to...
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 bigger than anyone can know—lies ahead as the climate continues to warm, raising water temperatures and producing potentially widespread...
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...
The Lake Tahoe region is home to five spectacular wilderness areas Identifying the dizzying array of federal public land in the United States can be difficult. You may think you know what a national park looks like—snapshots of the dawn of creation, like Yosemite’s towering granite monoliths...