LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. – Team Tahoe, the 80-plus organizations working in partnership to implement the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), today praised Tahoe’s congressional delegation for the introduction of the Santini-Burton Modernization Act….
The Santini-Burton Modernization Act is the product of a multi-year collaboration by Tahoe’s state and local governments, the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, non-profits, and the private sector. If enacted, modernization would free up existing funds for ongoing management, allowing the Tahoe Basin to complete more lake-saving Environmental Improvement Program projects to protect Tahoe’s famed clarity, improve recreation access, manage forests, reduce wildfire risk, and expand the presence of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California….
“The health of the land equals the health of the people. For many years we have been working to bring Washoe people back onto our homelands and become stewards of the land the way our ancestors have for thousands of years,” said Serrell Smokey, Chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. “Updating the Santini-Burton Act will be a huge step for all of us to create the safe and healthy forests we all need….”
“The Santini-Burton Modernization Act will help us write the next chapter of Tahoe’s conservation success story. Drafted in true collaboration by and for Tahoe partners, this legislation will unlock essential funding to protect the lake and basin for future generations—without costing taxpayers a dime,” said Keep Tahoe Blue CEO Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD. “I look forward to working with the bill’s leads, Senator Cortez Masto and Congressman Kiley, on turning this proposal into law….”