Environmental Improvement Program

The League plays a leading role in advocating for public investment in restoration projects included in the Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program. The EIP was established in 1997 as a coordinated effort designed to protect and restore Lake Tahoe’s natural resources. The program includes a list of erosion control, land acquisition, watershed, and forest ecosystem restoration projects. The League views the funding of this program, and the identification of priority projects, as key components in saving Lake Tahoe.  

Since the development of the EIP, the League has strongly supported and promoted the program. It is estimated the total cost of the ten-year program is over $1.5 billion. The League works diligently with our private sector partners and land management agencies to assure necessary funding for EIP projects – and to assure that such funding is spent as wisely and efficiently as possible. When the EIP was developed, it was determined that projects would be funded by state, federal, and local revenue sources and the League has worked to promote the program at each level.

Restoration work continues yearly under the EIP. For example, in summer 2010, near Tahoe City, crews began an EIP project to restore 35 acres of meadow that were filled in decades ago for a condominium development that never materialized.