Featured Stories

USFS programs enhance environmental literacy

Education a catalyst for connecting community and visitors to public lands

By Megan Dee, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Winter 2024 - The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) works with partners and volunteers to deliver programs to local youth, communities, formal and nonformal educators, and visitors to National Forest lands.

One example is the Conservation Education Program, which fosters environmental literacy and shared stewardship with the interpretative Ski With A Ranger and fifth-grade Winter Trek interpretive offerings. Both are made possible with the help of Heavenly Mountain Resort, the City of South Lake Tahoe, and the Great Basin Institute, the conservation non-profit that also serves as the LTBMU’s interpretive association.

These programs are funded and supported through partnerships, Heavenly’s Epic Promise Grant, and volunteers. In 2024, for example, volunteers contributed 348 hours to support Ski With A Ranger. The Epic Promise Grant funds gondola rides for fifth-grade students and teachers, as well as lift tickets for volunteers.

The program expanded to include Hike With A Ranger in 2016, aligning with Heavenly’s Epic Discovery summer operations—an initiative to expand all-season activities at the resort.

In 2023, Ski With A Ranger expanded to the Eldorado National Forest, Kirkwood Mountain Resort, and Kirkwood Nordic Center.

“For the past 14 years, the free Ski With A Ranger program has consistently served as a catalyst for connecting community members and visitors to their public lands in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin,” said LTBMU Public Services Staff Officer, Daniel Cressy.

On-mountain interpretive ski tours focus on the cultural and environmental history of the Lake Tahoe Basin, highlighting National Forest land management challenges and stewardship approaches. This focus helps participants better understand the grandeur of the area, its cultural heritage, and the shared stewardship responsibilities of all residents and visitors.

The Ski With A Ranger program fosters greater public awareness around four themes:

• Fuels Reduction and Forest Health
• Watershed Restoration and Habitat Improvement
• Water Quality Improvement and Erosion Control
• Recreation and Human Responsibility

“By leveraging partnerships and volunteer contributions, LTBMU conservation education staff have consistently led and inspired the public to better appreciate and care for their public lands,” said Vice President of Mountain Operations at Heavenly Mountain Resort, Peter Disch.

Partnership investments also help the LTBMU deliver youth conservation education in the Winter Trek alpine program. Each winter, 20–25 fifth-grade classes (600–750 students) ride the gondola with volunteers and staff to Heavenly’s high-elevation areas to snowshoe and enjoy an outdoor winter classroom. The curriculum focuses on the natural history and geology of the Lake Tahoe Basin and meets current state science education standards.

Participants gain inspiration, ‘wow factor’ through USFS education programs

Many participants have never snowshoed or experienced the high-elevation winter environment at Heavenly. The students’ excitement and enthusiasm for the experience is contagious, positively affecting all whom they encounter, including the staff and volunteers who support and deliver the program.

“While the experience of delivering the program is rewarding, the real benefits come from inspiring locals and visitors of all ages and seeing them experience ‘light bulb moments’ along with the ‘wow factor’ of being in such a unique environment,” Cressy said.

If you are interested in volunteering for the LTBMU’s Conservation Education programs, please contact lannette.rangel@usda.gov.

Megan Dee is the recreation program manager for the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

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Incline Meadow, Burke Creek projects completed

Restoration assists erosion control, native vegetation, and habitat while maintaining recreation 

By Theresa Cody and Randy Striplin

Winter 2024 - Major erosion control and watershed rehabilitation work aimed at restoring and preserving Lake Tahoe’s famed clarity are underway throughout the Tahoe Basin, and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) just completed two key projects at Incline Meadow and Burke Creek.

At Incline Meadow a few miles above Incline Village off Mount Rose Highway, restoration crews in recent years have removed unstable dam structures from the previously drained, manmade lake; recontoured the 754-acre area to re-establish its natural topography; and restored natural vegetation and wildlife habitat.

At Burke Creek and Rabe Meadow—located about a mile north of Stateline on the west side of U.S. Highway 50—crews have restored the waterway’s natural channel; expanded the area’s meadow floodplain; and reactivated dormant stream meanders by installing woody structures to encourage beaver recolonization.

Both locations had been extensively altered by human activities, including logging, grazing, recreation, and unnatural alterations to streams and meadows. By mending natural processes within the ecosystem, these projects will directly benefit the lake by naturally filtering runoff before it reaches Lake Tahoe. These projects will ultimately strengthen the resilience of the Lake Tahoe ecosystem, particularly during droughts and extreme rain or snowmelt events.

Shared Restoration Goals

Although located miles apart in different corners of the Tahoe Basin, the Incline Meadow and Burke Creek projects are similar in many ways. Both projects involved:

• Hydrologic restoration: Restoring natural stream channels, improving floodplain connectivity, and revitalizing groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
• Erosion control: Stabilizing streambanks to prevent future erosion and reduce the amount of sediment flowing into Lake Tahoe.
• Vegetation restoration: Both projects have brought back native riparian and meadow vegetation and critical wetland plant communities while removing and discouraging invasive species.
• Habitat enhancement: In repairing these areas, the Forest Service has reintroduced thriving habitats for diverse species. The endangered Tahoe yellow cress now has a foothold in Burke Creek, and beaver colonies, whose dam-building activities help rejuvenate streams, now have opportunities in both areas.
• Invasive species management: Both projects helped remove terrestrial invasive flora to protect native ecosystems.
• Public access and recreation: The work also has benefits for humans! The restoration efforts will discourage damaging human activity while creating opportunities for continued recreational access that doesn’t interfere with these fragile areas’ natural processes.

Incline Meadow Restoration

The LTBMU acquired the 754-acre Incline Lake property in 2011. The property included the human-made lake and dam, which did not meet safety standards. The lake was drained prior to the Forest Service taking ownership, and the dam structures and spillways were removed in 2020. The area was then recontoured to match the natural topography. Subsequent restoration began in 2021.

Here are some of the achievements of that effort:

• Restoration of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, including fens, marshes, and wetland communities.
• Re-establishment of natural surface flow patterns in the meadow by removing human-made berms, filling gullies, and installing log and willow structures.
• Installation of structures designed to mimic natural beaver dams (called beaver dam analogs) and woody debris structures to enhance habitat. Beaver dams trap sediment and pollutants; create habitat for other wildlife and fish; and help to store water. (Read more about beavers on page 24.)
• Stabilization of headcuts and streambanks to prevent erosion.
• Introduction of native plants such as willow stakes, seeds, and small, native plants that are hand-planted to help vegetation grow in wetlands.
• Habitat restoration for native fish and other aquatic species.
• Removal of terrestrial invasive species.
• Implementation of slope stabilization and recontouring upland areas previously occupied with building sites.

These restoration efforts will reverse the negative impacts of the dam and restore the watershed to more natural conditions, creating a more resilient landscape.

This project was funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which authorizes the sale of Bureau of Land Management-administered federal lands within a designated boundary in the Las Vegas Valley and requires proceeds to be used on projects to fund federal, state, and local projects that benefit communities and public lands.

Burke Creek Restoration

Burke Creek and Rabe Meadow have been damaged by logging, grazing, and development over the past century, resulting in significant modifications to the stream, its tributaries, and surrounding meadows. These impacts on the watershed reduced stream meandering and areas of healthy wetlands.

Increased recreational use of Rabe Meadow over past decades has also created an expansive network of user-created trails and an increase in bare soil areas within the meadow. As a result, Burke Creek’s water quality has declined and aquatic and terrestrial habitat has suffered.

Here are some of the improvements this project has created:

• Realignment of Burke Creek and creation of a lowered floodplain for improved habitat conditions and reduced infrastructure damage.
• Replacement of undersized culverts to enhance water flow.
• Restoration of natural floodplain processes and expansion of the meadow through the decommissioning of Kahle Ditch.
• Removal of invasive species to promote healthy ecosystems.
• Reshaping Rabe Meadow to restore natural floodplain slopes and create a multi-branch stream channel.
• Reactivation of dormant channels through the installation of beaver dam analogs and woody structures to encourage natural channel evolution and increased beaver colonization.
• Partial filling of Jennings Pond with rock and soil and lowering adjacent floodplain surfaces to restore natural hydrology and mitigate flood risks.
• Trail improvements and re-routes to minimize resource impacts.
• Removal of invasive conifers to improve meadow health.
• Revegetation of disturbed areas with native plants.

These improvements reduce flood risks, improve water quality and habitat, and enhance public access to this important recreation area.

This project was funded by the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and completed through a partnership between the LTBMU and the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District.

“The successful completion of the Incline Meadow and Burke Creek Restoration projects represents a significant victory in the fight to protect Lake Tahoe’s future,” said Ecosystem Staff Officer Randy Striplin. “By addressing historical damage, restoring natural processes, and promoting native habitats, these projects not only contribute to cleaner water and a vibrant wildlife population but also enhance the overall resilience of the ecosystem against climate threats.”

The USDA Forest Service and its partners encourage ongoing public interest in the natural splendor of Lake Tahoe and our efforts to restore degraded areas to more resilient and sustainable conditions. Restoration projects usually have some inherent short-term impacts, but the long-term benefits greatly outweigh these. Through continued learning and collaboration with management agencies, we can promote sustainable practices and support future restoration efforts that will secure a healthy and vibrant lake for generations to come.

Theresa Cody is a restoration hydrologist, and Randy Striplin is the ecosystems staff officer for the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

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Lake Tahoe Restoration Act: Experiencing the Impact 

By Andrew Avitt, Pacific Southwest Region

June 17, 2024 - Editor’s note: The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act could expire this September after nearly 25 years of supporting conservation efforts throughout the Tahoe Basin. This article highlights some of the accomplishments of that legislation.  

Millions of visitors travel to Lake Tahoe every year — from all over the world, across the country, and from nearby cities. They hike, bike, boat, bird watch, summit peaks, fish, ski, snowboard, snowshoe, sled, and more. They come to get away but also for the views of lush green forests and a crystal-clear lake surrounded by snowcapped peaks.  

About 55,000 residents call the basin home as well, and they’ll tell you, they’re lucky to live here. Kimberly Caringer, a long-time Arizonian, first came to the Lake Tahoe Basin for summer work while studying for her environmental policy degree. Her first impression? The scenery was amazing, the lake was clear blue and massive, and the summer temperatures were more forgiving than the scorching Arizona heat.  

But even more impressive to Caringer was the effort by locals to conserve the area.  

“I remember thinking this is the Olympics of environmental stewardship — real collaborative work to protect such an important place.”  

Now Caringer is a Tahoe local and works as the chief partnerships officer and deputy director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency — a unique bi-state compact agency created by Nevada and California in 1969 to protect and restore Lake Tahoe while enhancing its communities. After establishing environmentally sensitive practices and growth management systems, in 1997 the agency came together with local, state, and federal agencies as well as the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations to fix over 100 years of environmental mistakes. Streams, meadows, and wetlands were damaged or destroyed, forests had been clearcut, towns planned around automobile use, and pollution from erosion and stormwater was reducing the lake’s world famous clarity at the rate of about a foot per year. The lake was at a tipping point.  

The partnership established one of the most comprehensive restoration programs in the nation, the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, or EIP, which would later draw Caringer to Tahoe.  

“It needs to be a shared effort," Caringer said. "Saving Lake Tahoe can't all fall on either the federal government, state, or local communities. It has to be shared.”  

Today, the EIP demonstrates epic collaboration as more than 80 organizations collaborate to implement projects such as stream and meadow restoration, trail maintenance, wildfire risk reduction treatments, stormwater management, erosion control projects, and the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Recovery Program. All of these require collaboration across jurisdictions and involve a delicate balance of funding.  

At first glance, Lake Tahoe would seem to have the funds to care for the lake and its surrounding resources. In reality, local and state governments can’t support the massive restoration needed on their own. Nearly 80 percent of the land in the basin is managed by the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU).  

The creation of the EIP in 1997 brought national attention to Tahoe. That year, then-President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore joined Tahoe’s Congressional delegation at the lake to host the first Presidential Lake Tahoe Summit. The event made history and inspired Congress to pass the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (LTRA) in 2000, authorizing $300 million for environmental projects and habitat restoration across the Lake Tahoe Basin. After a lapse in funding between 2010 and 2016, Congress reauthorized the act for seven years with $415 million set to expire in September 2024.  

“Before the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, it was a patchwork of people and organizations just trying to cut and paste money together as best as they could,” said Caringer. “And even then, the funding didn‘t match the environmental projects needed in the region, estimated at $900 million in 1997.”  

Thanks to LTRA, the LTBMU and partners have implemented 17 large-scale stream and meadow. restoration projects since 2016. Some of the largest projects include the Upper Truckee River and Marsh Restoration, Third Creek restoration, and comprehensive planning for Meeks Bay. These projects will make a significant difference for wildlife and repair our natural ecosystems while allowing for sustainable recreation opportunities.  

A clear lake vs. invasive species  

Each year, around 15,000 recreational boats are launched into Lake Tahoe’s crystal-clear waters. One of the highest priorities of the EIP is to ensure these welcomed watercraft are not carrying some unwelcome visitors: aquatic invasive species.  

Since the beginning of the EIP, protecting the lake from existing non-native species and new aquatic invasive species spreading across the western U.S. has been a major concern.  

“Aquatic invasive species can disrupt our natural ecosystem, impact recreation, and can be impossible to eradicate. Above all, they can affect the lake clarity Tahoe is so famous for,” said Caringer.  

Without support from the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, aquatic invasive species control would be underfunded, and innovative projects to control existing aquatic invasive weeds and fish would disappear.  

Reducing wildfire risk in Tahoe  

Collaboration is critical when it comes to managing a shared resource like Lake Tahoe.  

Wildfire risk has always been present in this area, but the frequency and intensity have changed.  

“We're working with a forest impacted by Comstock logging during the 1800s Gold and Silver Rush era. Most of the timber in the basin was cut and removed. Now that timber has regrown into a dense single-aged forest,” said Brian Garrett, assistant vegetation management staff officer, who has lived at Tahoe and worked for the Forest Service for almost 35 years.  

Garrett continued, “And the development boom in the 1960s increased the number of residents closer to areas at risk from wildfire.”  

Tree mortality from drought, beetles, and invasive species has only exacerbated these conditions.  

“Our primary focus has been on fuels reduction in the wildland urban interface for the last 20 years,” said Garrett. “Now we're looking to increase that kind of work further out into the general forest.”  

The Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership is a shining example of how federal funding from the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and partners can elevate projects to a landscape scale. The National Forest Foundation, LTBMU, and state agencies plan to treat approximately 59,000 acres of national forest land stretching from Emerald Bay to Tahoe City — nearly the entire west side of the basin — from the shore to the top of the ridgeline.  

“That's the scale we need to continue adapting to changing conditions. The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act has been essential in helping us move toward increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration,” said Garrett.  

The future of a forest and its lake  

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act is set to expire in September. Unless Congress acts to reauthorize it, only about 30 percent of the $415 million authorized has been delivered. Supporters of the act’s renewal point out it isn’t about acquiring new funds. It’s about giving Congress more time to fund its existing commitment. That funding has historically been matched about five to one by local, state, and private investments.  

Caringer is optimistic. “We have shown the power of our partnership here and that we're a good investment based on the projects we have delivered. We’re making a difference for our communities and for the overall health of the lake.”  

From Garrett’s perspective, there’s still much more work to do. “The support has been really important for us in completing environmental improvement projects in the basin. From wildfire risk reduction to watershed health and water quality, on both national forests and non-federal lands, we have to keep moving forward.” 

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Mayála wàťa restoration project

Tribe takes active role in land stewardship of traditional Washoe territories

By Rhiana Jones and Brian Garrett

Summer 2024 - The waší:šiw (Washoe Tribe) has been stewards of the land in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin since time immemorial and want to continue their traditions by taking a more active role in the preservation and protection of traditional Washoe territories. It is crucial for the Washoe Tribe to have a more active role in fire management, wildland fire mitigation, and ecological restoration and conservation in their traditional homelands. Through a stewardship agreement with the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), the mayála wàťa (Meeks Meadow) Restoration Project aims to do just that. 

In 1998, the Washoe Tribe entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the LTBMU to restore this meadow. The agreement outlined the responsibilities of both parties and recognized the necessity and value of establishing a formal relationship to manage Tahoe’s land and resources. The LTBMU issued a 30-year, special-use permit to the Washoe Tribe — a huge step that acknowledged the Tribe as the region’s original inhabitants and stewards —  and included the Tribe in land management activities in the Tahoe Basin. In 2019, the Tribe and the LTBMU solidified their commitment to co-managing by signing a stewardship agreement for the mayála wàťa restoration project.

Why Meeks Meadow? 

The waší:šiw have been in the Lake Tahoe Basin for over 15,000 years and have seasonally lived at Meeks Bay and in Meeks Meadow (mayála wàťa) for the last 1,500 years or more. Lake Tahoe is the center of the Tribe’s creation story and the center of its homelands. 

In the summer, waší:šiw would travel from the Carson Valley to their summer homes around Lake Tahoe. They would fish, hunt, gather food and medicine, and collect basket-making materials. At the end of the season, the waší:šiw would burn places like Meeks Meadow to encourage the regrowth of their traditional foods and medicines, which were abundant due to ample moisture. The burning ensured valuable cultural resources were available for future generations. 

Meeks Meadow restoration

European settlers disrupted the seasonal cycle of Washoe people tending to the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Waší:šiw were no longer allowed in the Tahoe Basin. Moreover, the Comstock Era settlers destroyed pristine meadows and forests with cattle grazing and logging.

To restore and maintain waší:šiw culture, the Washoe Tribe is working to restore lands that are no longer functioning in a traditional capacity, using traditional practices such as cultural burning, vegetation monitoring, and managment in sites with cultural relevence in their homelands. 

Restoration project status 

The mayála wàťa Restoration Project has experienced several delays, including COVID-19, but now the stars have aligned to move this project forward — as long as the weather cooperates. The Washoe Tribe has received grant funds from the California Tahoe Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others to support their role in the stewardship agreement. 

In conjunction with LTBMU funding, the Washoe Tribe will award a contract and move forward with thinning and conifer removal in Meeks Meadow in fall 2024 and spring 2025. Once the meadow is thinned, the Tribe will work with the LTBMU on a culturally guided prescribed burn and conduct vegetation management in the meadow. 

After initial treatments are completed, the Washoe Tribe will support the long-term stewardship of Meeks Meadow through a variety of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practices, including vegetation management, cultivating and harvesting significant native plants, cultural burning, educational teachings, spiritual ceremonies, and other traditional practices. The Washoe Tribe seeks to remain caretakers of mayála wàťa for generations, continuing their long and rich legacy of land management in the Tahoe Basin. 

LTBMU perspective

The LTBMU is working to increase Washoe Tribal engagement in land stewardship within the Tahoe Basin. This work includes supporting opportunities for the Tribe to utilize restoration practices based on Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The Washoe Tribe has been managing and operating Meeks Bay Resort since 1998. The LTBMU plans a Washoe Traditional Ecological Knowledge prescribed fire project at Baldwin Meadow that will allow Tribal members to return cultural fire to the meadow.

“We are committed to strengthening our relationship with the Washoe Tribe through strong collaboration, as demonstrated in the mayála wàťa project,” LTBMU Forest Supervisor Erick Walker said. “The cultural expertise and knowledge of the Washoe Tribe, honed over the past 15,000 years in the Tahoe Basin, contributes immeasurably to better outcomes for restoration projects that benefit both the land and its inhabitants.”

Rhiana Jones is the environmental director of the Washoe Environmental Protection Department for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. Brian Garrett is the assistant vegetation management staff officer with the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

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Prescribed fires a key part of wildfire suppression

By Adrienne Freeman, Pacific Southwest Region

Winter 2023 - Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Fire Chief Carrie Thaler walks the Angora Ridge Trail on the Fallen Leaf Pile Burn unit. Photo by Tom Stokesberry, USDA Forest Service.

“Relationships and everyone’s willingness and desire to work together are the biggest things that we have going for us here in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” says USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) Fire Chief Carrie Thaler.

The list of agencies she sees supporting each other to use fire to reduce hazard fuels around the Lake Tahoe Basin is all-encompassing. CAL FIRE, local fire protection districts, and state partners on both the California and Nevada sides of the lake are moving in the same direction to ensure that the area’s forests are as healthy as the communities they house.

It hasn’t always been this way. For over 100 years, the USDA Forest Service policy of rapid-fire suppression contributed to overcrowded forests dense with a thick, impenetrable understory—a long way from the natural forest that came before. As devastating wildfires swept the area, exacerbated by changing global climate conditions made more complex by an ever-increasing human population, we learned that our attempts to overpower fire, a natural phenomenon as at home here as sunshine and snow, made things worse.

Many Native people in California, including the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, used and continue to use burning as a way to improve ecosystems and to encourage desirable species to grow. In most of the Lake Tahoe Basin, the average “fire return interval” (time between historic lightning-caused fires and Tribal burning) is about 5-17 years. Now, the LTBMU needs to continue moving in the direction of using fire to promote resilient forests. Being a century behind the curve to restore forest health, the LTBMU is getting to work.

Returning fire to the landscape is challenging, and it’s not a responsibility the LTBMU takes lightly. Prescribed fires are set by forest managers during favorable weather conditions and kept within control lines so the fire is low severity, consuming fuels that would otherwise burn at high severity during dangerous weather. At the LTBMU, a multitude of complex factors must converge to move forward with a prescribed burn. We’re looking to obtain a very specific outcome (e.g., burn less than 10 percent of mature trees and less than 50 percent of understory) outlined in a guiding document called a prescribed fire burn plan, which is tied to an in-depth environmental analysis. Is it too wet? Too dry? Too windy? Not windy enough? Will smoke disperse or settle? How will communities and visitors be affected? Are there cultural resources or native species to plan for or around? Could a fire start elsewhere in the state and make personnel scarce? Do these perfect conditions line up when staff is prepared to carry out the burn? It’s a no-go if the burn plan is not met, meaning all the planning and preparation has to wait for another day.

Thaler’s staff has decades of experience and extensive knowledge of the land. This makes it possible to be flexible. If conditions aren’t right in one place, they’re likely perfect in another.

“It takes energy, determination, and expertise to put fire on the ground in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” said Thaler. “We work together across jurisdictions to collectively protect the Lake Tahoe Basin.”

Crews from around the Tahoe Basin work shoulder to shoulder, and the LTBMU has ambitious plans to conduct over 700 acres of pile burns and prescribed fires, if conditions permit, over the coming months.

This fall the LTBMU, along with fire resources from other California National Forests, completed approximately 60 acres of pile burning near the Lily Lake Trail above Tahoe Mountain Road close to the Angora Ridge Trail. Next on the list is an area further up the ridgeline past the Angora Lookout toward the Angora Lake Trailhead.

This year, students from the Fire Academy at Lake Tahoe Community College took the opportunity to learn about the ecology and the benefits of prescribed fire, joining Forest Service and partner crews on the burn near the Lily Lake Trail.

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