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| Dear Members and Friends,
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 Welcome to the June 2008 edition of the Keep Tahoe Blue E-News. If you have not already received our Summer 2008 newsletter via regular mail, it should arrive shortly (assuming your membership is up-to-date)! Click here to join if you are not already a member.
We have a few urgent matters that we wanted to share with you immediately, however. Please see the articles below for important information about how you can help protect Lake Tahoe. Please also forward the information along to others who may be interested. Thanks for your support!
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Last Chance to Speak Out on Kings Beach Plan
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If you haven't already submitted comments for the new Kings Beach Commercial Core Plan, please consider doing so now. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is preparing to vote on the project on Wednesday, June 25th, so your comments are needed right away. The Placer County Supervisors will then vote on July 21st. Click here to send an email to the TRPA and Placer County.
The League supports the proposed three-lane roadway for its water and air quality benefits associated with a reduction in roadway area, slower traffic speeds, and less idling. In addition, the three-lane alternative will reduce automobile dependence by providing safe areas for pedestrians and bicyclists. We have an opportunity to create a walkable, safe community center that also provides extensive benefits for Lake Tahoe. Click here for more details on the benefits of the three-lane alternative.
Please send your comments to the TRPA and Placer County today.
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Attention All Boaters!
Tahoe In Danger of Mussel Infestation
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 The destructive Quagga and Zebra mussels have recently infested 17 different lakes and reservoirs in California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is seriously at risk. Both mussels can colonize on many types of surfaces, including all watercraft (including kayaks and inflatables), and can be transported from lake to lake on such surfaces. After making their way to a body of water, they reproduce quickly and can have dramatic, devastating impacts. If they reach Lake Tahoe, they would undoubtedly cause severe recreational and economic damage (they clog water intake lines and congregate on the engines and hulls of boats). In addition, they would transform pristine beaches into a maze of jagged shells and cause an odiferous stench to the area as they decompose. Once in the Lake, we will likely have them forever, and treatment could easily cost tens of millions of dollars every year!
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has taken some steps to prevent a quagga or zebra mussel infestation at Lake Tahoe, but unfortunately their program is not stringent enough. In the Bay Area, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) is requiring an inspection for all boats on its reservoirs and will turn away all boats from outside of California, from southern California, and even from nearby San Benito and Santa Clara counties. We here at Lake Tahoe should be reacting to this potential threat with a similar level of response. The League has proposed that measures are put in place to ensure every boat entering Lake Tahoe is inspected and subject to treatment. All it takes is one infested boat to initiate an irreversible infestation.
For now, everyone needs to be adopting the following practices for this state of emergency:
FOR MAXIMUM PROTECTION:
Avoid bringing any watercraft, engine, or any materials that have been in any other body of water to Lake Tahoe. Larval and adult forms of the quagga and zebra can affix to a wide variety of substances including metal, wood, fiberglass, plastic, neoprene, clothing, and even animals (crayfish and dogs). These mussels can survive for up to 30 days on dry surfaces and much longer in any standing water. Please do the following:
- dedicate your watercraft and accessories exclusively to Tahoe or
- rent a watercraft while at Tahoe
AT A MINIMUM:
All watercraft (including hull, trailer, motor, impeller, bilge, live well, bait buckets, coolers, trailer bunks, rollers, anchors, ropes, etc.) and accessories need to be cleaned, drained, and dried before and after use in any body of water employing a combination of hot water of 140 degrees Fahrenheit from a high-pressure hose, a potassium chloride solution, or a 6% chlorine bleach solution.
Click here for more information on our proposed plan.
Click here to go to the Tahoe Resource Conservation District website which offers tips on how to ensure your boat is properly cleaned and what to do if you suspect you may have discovered a mussel. |
| Shorezone Meeting This Week
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The TRPA staff is recommending the following action be approved by the Governing Board with regards to the controversial Shorezone plan on Thursday, June 26th, 9:00 AM at the TRPA Offices (128 Market St., Stateline, NV):
1) Delay final action on the Shorezone package until August, YET
2) Restrict public comments on the proposed Code or Program Description with a June 30, 2008 deadline! This is an unreasonable limitation on public participation for such a contentious issue.
The comment period on shorezone may be closed soon! Click here for more info on the current proposal and an opportunity to submit your comments. |
| League Leads Fire Restoration Efforts
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 On July 12th, the League is hosting a very special Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day. This year's event will focus on efforts to restore a portion of the Angora Fire burn area. Projects will include erosion control and fuels reduction as well as noxious plant removal and clean-up. We hope you'll join us and hundreds of other volunteers in this important work. Contact Flavia Sordelet at flavia@keeptahoeblue.org or 530-541-5388 to volunteer or to learn more. In the summer of 2007, the Angora Fire burned over 3,100 acres of federal, state, and private lands, as well as destroying 242 homes and damaging 35 other homes. Currently, the area is at risk from accelerated runoff and sedimentation due to the burned slopes. We hope you'll join us on July 12th! Click here for more info. |
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 Thanks for all your support!
Best regards,
Rochelle Nason, Executive Director
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