Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day takes place on Saturday, September 24 at several south Tahoe locations
Each year since 1997, the League to Save Lake Tahoe has rallied volunteers to revitalize forests, meadows, marshes and streams damaged by natural disasters, development from decades past, and agriculture. Healing lands impacted by wildfire is the focus of this year’s event.
Now in its 25th year, Tahoe Forest Stewardship Days (TFSD) events have empowered thousands of volunteers to restore important but fragile ecosystems across the Lake Tahoe Basin. These efforts protect Lake Tahoe’s beauty, as well as its famed water quality and clarity by restoring the environment’s natural functions.
The 2022 edition of TFSD is an opportunity to celebrate what’s been accomplished and embrace the work that still needs to be done to Keep Tahoe Blue. National Public Lands Day sets the perfect stage – it’s an occasion to think about the joy we get from our public open spaces, and to commit ourselves to protecting them for the future.
*The event is dependent on air quality conditions related to potential wildfire smoke.
WHAT: Four volunteer stewardship projects will happen simultaneously, with a focus on seeding trees in dozer lines left over from the 2021 Caldor Fire. The firebreaks created last summer to fight the devastating wildfire helped protect the community. But they also damaged soils, vegetation and wildlife habitat, and left the area prone to erosion that can damage the Lake’s water quality. Participants will collect and plant native seeds to restore the forests impacted by dozer lines.
Volunteer groups working at other sites will maintain popular multi-use trails to prevent habitat degradation; protect aspens and meadows from climate change impacts; and remove litter from a popular recreation site.
WHO: 100 or more volunteers, along with staff from the League to Save Lake Tahoe, USDA Forest Service – Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and Great Basin Institute
WHEN: Saturday, September 24 | National Public Lands Day
- Restoration projects – 8:30am – noon
- Volunteer celebration – noon – 2:30pm
WHERE: Check-in and kick-off: Tallac Historic Site | 1 Heritage Way, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 (map)
WHY: Many of Tahoe’s natural pollution filters – its meadows, streams and marshes – were damaged by unchecked development in the 20th century, along with forests that were clear-cut in the 19th century. More recently, climate change has driven prolonged droughts and intensified wildfires. Ecosystem restoration is key to bringing back the Lake’s natural filtration system, creating a healthy and safe fire regime, and making Tahoe resilient to the many impacts of the climate crisis.
VISUALS:
- Volunteers with gloves and hard hats using hand tools to repair trails, plant vegetation and pick up litter
- Forests impacted by Caldor Fire suppression activity, almost one year after the blaze was contained
- Popular mountain biking trails near a meadow and Lake Tahoe
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:
- Volunteers and community members
- League to Save Lake Tahoe team members
- USDA Forest Service and Great Basin Institute staff
VOLUNTEER SIGN-UPS & DETAILS: keeptahoeblue.org/25th-annual-tahoe-forest-stewardship-day/
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Media Contacts:
League to Save Lake Tahoe
Chris Joseph, 805.722.5646
The League to Save Lake Tahoe, also known by its iconic slogan “Keep Tahoe Blue,” is Tahoe’s oldest, largest and most successful nonprofit environmental organization. Our team of solutions-oriented Tahoe advocates use innovation, boots-on-the-ground action, and a holistic approach to solve the environmental challenges threatening the lake we love. In our 65th year, we continue pushing to Keep Tahoe Blue in an ever-changing world. Learn more at keeptahoeblue.org and @keeptahoeblue.