League Press Release, January 14, 2002
Lake Tahoe first to Ban Cattle Grazing for Water Quality Violations
The League to Save Lake Tahoe has long advocated ending cattle grazing in the sensitive meadows that line the Upper Truckee River, the main tributary into Lake Tahoe. Today, after years of controversy, the Forest Service has agreed with the League. In a letter to the permittees who graze the area, known as the Meiss allotment, the Forest Service advised them that they have "determined that a viable grazing strategy cannot be developed that would likely meet the State-mandated water quality standards and our riparian and wildlife habitat standards."
"This is of great significance for Lake Tahoe," said Rochelle Nason, executive director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe. "The public is making a substantial investment to protect and restore Tahoe's rivers and meadows. There is no excuse for allowing cattle to damage these sensitive areas. Downstream swimmers, and the Lake itself, need protection from fecal contamination. The priorities for Lake Tahoe should be clean water, outdoor recreation, and natural scenery, not cattle production."
The controversy over grazing the Meiss allotment has extended over the past ten years. Hundreds of grassroots activists and recreationists have written to the Forest Service in support of the League's call to end the practice, which has severely impacted the Big Meadow trail system used by thousands of hikers every summer. The permittees should have little difficulty finding alternative grazing areas, as half the allotments in the El Dorado National Forest, to the west of Lake Tahoe, are vacant.
"The Forest Service decision is a victory for all the people who love the lake." Nason said. Additionally, cattle grazing causes damage to the stream banks and riparian vegetation - vital to reducing sediment entering Lake Tahoe. It also negatively impacts mule deer fawning, another point raised in the Forest Service letter to the permittees.
For more information, call the League office at (530) 541-5388.
