Stateline, Nevada – Lake Spirit Awards presented by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Wednesday recognized five people for their commitment to protecting and enhancing Lake Tahoe’s unique natural environment.
Building trails, promoting climate change awareness, organizing beach cleanups, and preserving cultural resources are some of the ways this year’s award winners show their dedication to Lake Tahoe.
TRPA presents the awards, which were started in 2011, to individuals from both the North and South Shores who are either citizens or agency representatives/environmental scientists.
This year’s Lake Spirit Award winners are:
South Shore Agency Representative/Environmental Scientist: Marilee Movius
League to Save Lake Tahoe Community Engagement Manager Marilee Movius fosters a more informed community through her work, where she manages the League’s volunteer program, cultivates local partnerships, and organizes community events.
Movius was especially effective at organizing more than 500 volunteers for beach clean ups last July.
“Volunteers picked up 1,473 pounds of trash, including 8,121 cigarette butts and thousands of pieces of plastic,” wrote Liz Lawton, environmental program manager for Liberty Utilities, in nominating Movius. “The event was covered by 26 media outlets from Tahoe, the northern California region and northern and southern Nevada. It is great to see the biggest turnout yet for this event last year and the awareness grow that we need to reduce use and pack out what we pack in.
“Marilee has a great skill at getting even the biggest skeptic excited about environmental issues around Lake Tahoe,” Lawton said. “She lives her environmental stewardship in all her activities.”