LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – At the California Tahoe Conservancy Board meeting on Thursday, the board acquired a parcel of land at the entrance of Van Sickle Bi-State Park, approved the Senate Bill 630 public access grants for Regan and Secline Beach, and approved Tahoe City Public Utility District’s water main extension into Meeks Bay. The board also received their annual report on the Conservancy’s work.
Executive Director’s report
According to Jason Vasques, executive director, the Conservancy has been hard at work with fuels reduction in the area, especially for the North Tahoe Fire Protection District to assist in home hardening and defensible space and South Shore schools, which will have projects starting this summer. The Forest Action Plan, which was developed in 2019, identified a need to treat 25,000 acres—after interruptions from the Caldor Fire and COVID-19, the plan is roughly on track with a target of about 4,000 acres to be treated to meet their goal.
The passing of Proposition 4 this past election authorized $10 billion to spend on environmental and climate projects. Here in the Basin, Vasques said there is $25.5 million available for watershed and forest health work and $29 million allocated for reducing the risk of climate change; impacts on communities, fish, wildlife, natural resources; and increasing public access. Vasques also said that the bond will drive benefits towards disadvantaged communities, including tribes like the Washoe.
During public comment, one person expressed their concerns about the fire insurance in their neighborhood going up because of the Conservancy’s parcels in neighborhoods not complying with defensible space requirements. The Conservancy plans to launch a pilot program to do this work in the late summer to fall, which will take place in select parcels in neighborhoods.
The Conservancy helped fund the Tahoe for All Grant program through pilot funding in 2022 and 2023. Staff heard from representatives of the Lake Tahoe Waterman Foundation, Adventure Risk Challenge, and South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, all of which are funded through Tahoe for All and aim to improve access for marginalized groups.
The board had strong support for the impact of these programs and is committing $100,000 of Lake Tahoe License Plate funding annually for the program, and is considering funding through Proposition 4.