Wolves—a symbol of wilderness and an icon of the American West—likely wandered the woods of Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevada a century ago. Though estimates put the country’s total wolf population at more than two million when European settlers first arrived in the...
Once on the brink of extinction, bald eagles are now thriving in the Tahoe Basin and beyond The local Paiutes call them “ggwe’na’a.” The Shoshone, “biagwi’yaa.” To all Americans, they are our national symbol. The bald eagle is one of the most magnificent examples of...
Questions arise about the state of aging dams in the Tahoe area When roughly 180,000 people were evacuated beneath the potentially failing Oroville Dam emergency spillway in Northern California on February 12, it brought into sharp focus what experts have been warning for years: Many of...
A two-year effort to agree on new regulations guiding shoreline activities around Lake Tahoe—a thorny issue that has eluded success over the years and which is given added urgency by the impacts of drought and climate change—is now underway. Government agencies, lakeside property owners, environmentalists...
Sierra Nevada agencies seek to mitigate rising tree mortality issues Over the past few years, large swaths of the Sierra Nevada’s evergreen western flank have turned a sickly red-brown, with an estimated 66 million trees dying since 2010. Some 26 million of those have perished in...
With the use of drones, Reno–Tahoe area is on the front line of cloud-seeding technology As winter storms approach the Sierra, experts with an eye toward squeezing every possible snowflake from those churning clouds will be watching closely. For the first time, those engaged in the practice...
Although traditionally vilified, some scientists say non-native species deserve a second look Officials at Lake Tahoe are once again ratcheting up the battle against aquatic invasive species. In language indicative of the war-like mindset taken toward invasives in the Basin, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) director...
In a remote granite bowl on the western Sierra Crest, unassuming snowfields melt into small braided streams among mule’s ear flowers and pines, slowly gathering together and gaining force, cutting deeper and deeper into the soil and rock, eventually forming the mighty American River. Lying on...
Thanks to winter’s return after a four-year hiatus, Lake Tahoe’s wildflowers are poised to impress with a banner year After four years of drought, Tahoe is heading into summer on the heels of an average snowpack winter: The Lake is once again flowing from its outlet, and...
Committed conservationists revitalize the Truckee River...