SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (Calif.) Yesterday, a federal law was signed that makes additional investments in Tahoe’s environment, to protect its delicate ecology, as well as support its community.
Tahoe will receive $23.8million through the Lake Restoration Act. This includes $3.4 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law and $2 million in community funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation for fiscal year 2022.
Tahoe is not a property of Nevada or California. It is a national treasure, stated Darcie Goodman Collins CEO of the League to Save Lake Tahoe (also known as Keep Tahoe Blue). We are encouraged by the bipartisan effort to preserve, preserve, and Keep Tahoe Blue in Washington D.C., especially in light of climate change and extreme wildfire.
Together, the approved funding supports a variety of Tahoe priorities, including wildfire preparation, which was tragically highlighted by the Caldor Fire, which scorched 10,000 acres in the Tahoe Basin during the summer of 2021. The following appropriations are:
$7,000,000 for water infrastructure to support fire suppression
$6,500,000 to manage watersheds
$6,000,000 for forest health
$7,700,000. For aquatic invasive species prevention and control
$2,000,000 for infrastructure improvements along the highly-visited SR-28 corridor
The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act’s latest funding represents a 148% increase in funding compared to the previous fiscal years. This highlights Tahoe’s importance on the national stage as well as the many pressures it faces.
Joanne Marchetta, executive director of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency said that the Tahoe region as well as our lake are at serious risk from the combined effects of climate change and increased recreational pressures. This record-breaking amount of funding through Lake Tahoe Restoration Act will help to protect the lake’s forests and meadows, water infrastructure, transportation, as well as the world-famous lake clarity. We are grateful for the continued investment in Tahoe’s future by Tahoe’s congressional leaders and partners in advocacy.
The Lake Tahoe Restoration Acts have been a vital channel of support for Basin environmental health and a source local jobs and economic activity for more than 20 years. In 2021, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Rep. Mark Amodei from Nevada introduced bipartisan legislation to extend authorization of the 2016 Lake Tahoe Restoration Act. This will allow the pipeline to continue to be open for hundreds of million dollars to complete critical environmental work and make Tahoe more resilient to climate change.
The Lake Tahoe Partnership, an advocacy organization coordinated by the League to Save Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Chamber, and many partners, will continue to work with Tahoe’s federal representatives to extend authorization for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act in 2020.
“As the Tahoe Basin’s largest landowner, these federal investments are an appropriate and a much-appreciated contribution along with state, local and private sector investments in the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program,” said Steve Teshara, director of government relations for Tahoe Chamber. “The multi-sector funding for EIP creates jobs and stimulates entrepreneurial innovations in science, forest and land management, and water quality protection.”
Source: League to Save Lake Tahoe
