In June, we shared our 2025–2029 Strategic Plan — Keep Tahoe Blue’s roadmap for protecting Tahoe now and for the future. As the threats facing the Lake evolve, so does our work, which is why you may see a new section in our e-newsletters: Beyond the Basin. This centers on 1) addressing pressures coming from outside Tahoe’s boundaries, such as the impacts from near-Basin development and wildfire, and 2) exchanging conservation best practices with communities around the world. To realize our 2030 visions for Tahoe, we are thinking and acting Bigger Than Tahoe. Thank you for helping Keep Tahoe Blue.
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On August 23, Lake Tahoe becomes the stage for a global voice in environmental leadership. Jean-Michel Cousteau — world-renowned oceanographer, President & CEO of Ocean Futures Society, and son of Jacques Cousteau — will join Keep Tahoe Blue for a powerful speaking event focused on where our missions meet — protecting the future of our waters: past, present, and future. Join us at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe campus in Incline Village.
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Motel 6 Demolition and Upper Truckee Marsh South Restoration |
What is it?
For decades, Keep Tahoe Blue and other organizations have worked to put 31 acres of environmentally sensitive land along the Upper Truckee River in South Lake Tahoe into public hands so it can be restored. A Motel 6, parking lot, and restaurant building have sat in the river’s floodplain for decades, restricting connectivity of the Upper Truckee River ecosystem and handicapping the Upper Truckee Marsh’s ability to act as a natural pollution filter for Lake Tahoe. The Upper Truckee River drains a third of the Lake Tahoe Basin’s land area and is consistently the single largest contributor of clarity-reducing particles to the Lake, meaning restoration is key to protecting the Lake’s water quality and clarity.
Where is it in the process?
In the spring of 2024, the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) purchased the property with support from Keep Tahoe Blue and a broad group of agencies and non-governmental organizations. CTC’s property acquisition opens the door for ecosystem restoration and reconnection between 560 acres of the Upper Truckee Marsh to the north and 206 acres of Johnson Meadow across U.S. Highway 50 to the south. Our team at Keep Tahoe Blue vocally supported this important property purchase, ensured it remained a priority by shaping the Regional Plan, and have provided funding for the future restoration work.
Funding for the property acquisition came from the California Wildlife Conservation Board, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Tahoe Fund, and Keep Tahoe Blue. What’s next?
Beginning last month (July 2025), demolition of the aging structures got underway. Contractors are first removing hazardous building materials, then demolishing and removing the vacant restaurant and hotel buildings. Next, they will remove building foundations and paved parking areas and finally grade and stabilize disturbed soils to prevent stormwater runoff. The contractors will separate as much of the waste material as possible for reuse or recycling. The work is expected to continue into the fall. With the buildings and impermeable surfaces removed, planning for restoration of the marsh and wetland habitat will push ahead.
After demolition, CTC will retire or transfer the property’s development rights and coverage for future use for redevelopment in town centers where impacts are easier to offset and development does not sit within a floodplain or wetland. By transferring development rights, CTC has supported affordable housing projects like Sugar Pine Village in South Lake Tahoe. What’s Keep Tahoe Blue's position? SUPPORT
Healthy, functioning wetlands act as a natural pollution filter for Lake Tahoe, preserving its famed clarity. For decades, Keep Tahoe Blue has taken part in collaborative efforts to restore and improve not only the Upper Truckee Marsh, but the entire river corridor, using citizen science, public education, hands-on volunteer projects, and vocal public support. Our team also consistently advocated to decision makers in Sacramento to ensure that public acquisition of the former Motel 6 property, and its restoration to marsh and wetland habitat, remained a priority. We are delighted to have helped CTC acquire the property and look forward to working closely with them to design and implement a restoration project that will protect Lake Tahoe.
Climate connection
Tahoe’s marshes, meadows, and wetlands are Tahoe’s natural pollution filters, as well as buffers against the impacts of development. When healthy, they remove pollutants from waters flowing into the Lake, protecting the Lake’s clarity, water quality, and beauty for all to enjoy. This crucial project will make Lake Tahoe more resilient and better able to withstand environmental shocks from climate change, such as extreme storms, drought, and wildfire.
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Image: U.S. Forest Service - Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit |
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Lake Tahoe West Restoration Project Update |
What is it?
The Lake Tahoe West Project (Lake Tahoe West) is a collaborative effort to improve forest and watershed health on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. Past land use practices on the West Shore have resulted in overly dense and fire-prone forests, low quality wildlife habitat, and degraded watersheds. The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (Forest Service) project was designed on an expansive, landscape scale to restore the ecosystem’s natural resilience to disturbances like drought, fire, and pests — threats that are amplified by climate change. If successful, Lake Tahoe West will reduce wildfire risk to communities, improve forest health, return beneficial fire to the landscape, enhance habitats for native plants and wildlife, improve recreational access, and protect Lake clarity.
Where is it in the process:
The Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership formed in 2016 and has included input from Keep Tahoe Blue alongside land management and regulatory agencies, conservation groups, fire protection agencies, the recreation community, homeowners, businesses, scientists, local government, and others. The project’s lead agency, the Forest Service, compiled stakeholder perspectives to design the project’s scope and actions. In late May of 2025, the Forest Service released the restoration project’s draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for a 30-day public review and comment period. The EA outlines the actions proposed under the project, their likely impacts, along with proposed mitigation measures.
What’s next:
The public comment period for the draft EA is now closed. The Forest Service is reviewing feedback from stakeholders and the public and considering final changes to the proposed action. Keep Tahoe Blue anticipates the EA will be finalized this year, clearing the way for more detailed planning and the initiation of project work, such as forest fuels thinning. What’s Keep Tahoe Blue's position? SUPPORT with caveats:
Landscape-scale fuels reduction projects such as this one, which seek to revitalize entire functioning ecosystems, are crucial. They can build Tahoe’s ability to withstand drought, pests, wildfire, and other threats that are intensified by climate change. Keep Tahoe Blue has been a deeply involved stakeholder and strong supporter of forest fuels reductions in this large expanse of the West Shore, and in key places around the Basin. While we support the Lake Tahoe West Project, we continue to have concerns about the construction of over 35 miles of permanent roads for fuels removal in areas currently off limits to road building. The current project does not require the level of mitigation measures Keep Tahoe Blue would like to see for those roads to ensure that runoff from erosion does not reach the Lake. We will remain closely and vocally engaged to ensure Lake Tahoe’s water quality is protected while critically needed, large-scale forest health work moves ahead, especially in riparian corridors and on steep, forested slopes.
Climate connection:
Increasing the pace and scale of forest fuels reduction is crucial as wildfires intensify due to climate change and Tahoe is regularly threatened by smoke, ash, and flames. Forest health projects like Lake Tahoe West create resilience, or the ability for the natural environment to bounce back after disturbance, in fragile ecosystems like the Tahoe Basin. More information: |
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What is it:
Emerald Bay is an iconic and extremely popular visitor destination. Around 1.5 million people visit the area each year, and up to 16,000 people can visit on a busy summer day, yet there is limited parking and, since 2017, no car-alternative transportation option to get there. This results in traffic and unsafe, illegal, and environmentally harmful parking practices. Beginning in July 2024, Keep Tahoe Blue worked together with a wide group of partners convened by El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine to design and implement a pilot project that would temporarily eliminate about 100 problem parking spaces and run a shuttle service to offset the reduced parking. Keep Tahoe Blue is leading the transit component. The goals of the project are to reduce a significant source of pollution to Lake Tahoe and gather data on rider habits to inform transit system improvements, while maintaining recreational access and preserving the visitor experience.
The project partners include El Dorado County, Caltrans, California Highway Patrol, California State Parks, Placer County, Tahoe Transportation District, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, City of South Lake Tahoe, Sierra State Parks Foundation, South Shore Transportation Management Association, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Tahoe Fund, and Keep Tahoe Blue. Where is it in the process:
On July 3, Caltrans conducted a road safety audit in the Emerald Bay area, which will be used to identify long- and short-term transportation solutions that the agency and local partners may be able to implement permanently. In early July, temporary barricades were put in place to eliminate illegal and environmentally harmful parking. On July 15, the Emerald Bay Shuttle service launched, carrying riders on fixed routes from several locations — Camp Richardson Resort, Sugar Pine Point State Park, and the South Tahoe “Y” Transit Center — to the Eagle Falls trailhead at Emerald Bay and back. The shuttles run from 9 am to 5 pm, seven days a week, and have the capacity to carry up to 350 people per day, along with bikes, recreational gear, and dogs. Rides to and from Emerald Bay cost $10 for adults and $5 for kids 13 and under. Fares contribute directly to operating the shuttle, with Keep Tahoe Blue and Tahoe Fund jointly funding the remaining costs. The shuttle’s operator, Downtowner, reports that ridership has been stronger than the average launch of new transit services. However, education and behavior change take time, and shuttles are not regularly full. To make the shuttle pilot permanent, people are encouraged to ride the shuttle and spread the word.
What’s next:
The shuttle service and parking restrictions will be in place through October 15. The public can book rides to and from Emerald Bay anytime using an online reservation system at emeraldbayshuttle.com. Once the pilot project is complete, the partners will analyze its performance.
What’s Keep Tahoe Blue's position? SUPPORT:
Car traffic is one of the most significant threats to Tahoe’s water quality and clarity. Cars generate tailpipe emissions, erosion, and runoff that introduce fine sediment particles into the Lake, clouding its waters and feeding algae growth. Keep Tahoe Blue is working to break Tahoe’s dependence on the private car (which is a foundational goal of Tahoe’s Bi-State Compact and Regional Transportation Plan) by pushing for bold transportation planning, advocating for public funds to implement those plans, and launching or funding our own innovative pilot projects — such as the 2018 microtransit service that paved the way for Lake Link and TART Connect services. We’re undertaking these efforts as part of our “Park Once” vision for Tahoe, where a clean, interconnected network of non-car transportation options can move people around the Basin easily and dependably in all four seasons.
Climate connection:
Car travel within the Tahoe Basin triggers erosion and tailpipe emissions that are known to impact Lake Tahoe’s water clarity and accelerate climate change.
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Action to Prevent Golden Mussels |
What is it:
Invasive golden mussels are the most urgent threat to Lake Tahoe’s water clarity and quality. They are an invasive species of freshwater mollusk originally from Asia that were first discovered in North America — at the Port of Stockton — in October 2024. Since then, they’ve spread across more than 300 miles of the state, from Los Angeles County to Lake Oroville. They’re small (typically less than 1.5” in length), fast-spreading, and impossible to remove once a new population has been established. They encrust any hard surface — dock pilings, boat hulls, and even rocks — in dense, sharp layers, which can cripple infrastructure like water pipes. Their ecological impact is similarly damaging. As filter feeders, they concentrate nutrients which can fuel algae growth and make harmful algal blooms more likely. In contrast to quagga and zebra mussels (other invasive mollusks that Keep Tahoe Blue and partners are working hard to keep out of the Lake), golden mussels are better able to withstand Tahoe’s cold, nutrient-poor waters, and are able to survive over a week without water of any kind.
In the face of this threat, Keep Tahoe Blue successfully advocated for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to strengthen its already-stringent boat inspection requirements. As of this spring, decontamination is mandatory for all visiting boats, jet skis, and other motorized watercraft. In late May, this new process successfully identified and removed a golden mussel attached to a boat on its way to Lake Tahoe. Another new requirement is that eFoils and similar hand-launched electric watercraft must be inspected at a boat inspection station at least once per calendar year, prior to launching in the waters of the Tahoe region.
Nonmotorized water equipment, like paddleboards, fishing gear and even water shoes, can also transport golden mussels. So, Keep Tahoe Blue launched a program called the AIS (aquatic invasive species) Defense Team, to train volunteers and dispatch them to popular beach sites to educate beachgoers about the golden mussel threat and encourage them to Clean, Drain and Dry all equipment before it touches the water. This program builds upon our Eyes on the Lake citizen science program, which for over a decade has trained volunteers to identify and report aquatic invasive species to prevent new infestations. We’re also working with partners to educate the public more broadly through direct mail, social media, and by generating news coverage.
Where is it in the process:
In early August, Keep Tahoe Blue attended a hearing and submitted a letter to the California Fish and Game Commission strongly urging them to add golden mussels to the restricted species list. This policy change would allow the Commission to take more aggressive actions to prevent the introduction and spread of golden mussels, including quarantining boats, just as they are authorized to do to stop quagga and zebra mussels. We have also advocated directly to lawmakers in Sacramento to support legislation that would give similar powers to stop golden mussels.
What’s next:
Keep Tahoe Blue will continue to push legislation and administrative changes to ensure Tahoe has the highest protections against this emerging threat. We will also continue educating the public using signage, the media, and face-to-face engagement.
What’s Keep Tahoe Blue's position? SUPPORT:
Keep Tahoe Blue strongly supports granting greater authority to the appropriate agencies to take swift actions that can prevent the spread of golden mussels.
Climate connection: Warming air and water temperatures driven by climate change create more habitat for aquatic invasive species to establish and spread in Lake Tahoe. More information: |
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Image: Tahoe Daily Tribune |
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Sharing Results from the Tahoe Keys Control Methods Test |
What is it?
The Control Methods Test (CMT) is a three-year, science-based program that tested a wide range of treatment methods, alone and in combination, to control the infestation of aquatic invasive weeds in targeted areas within the Tahoe Keys. The project is being administered by the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association (TKPOA), with assistance from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), specialty contractors, and Keep Tahoe Blue.
The CMT’s findings will guide a long-term strategy to tackle Tahoe’s most threatening invasive species infestation in the Keys’ shallow lagoons, stop its spread further into the Lake, and help protect water quality and clarity lake wide. Where is it in the process:
The CMT’s trials were completed during testing periods in three consecutive summers, 2022 through 2024. A combination of proven and emerging methods was applied, including laminar flow aeration, UV-C light treatment, bottom barriers, diver-assisted suction harvesting, as well as the one-time application of EPA-approved herbicides in small areas sequestered behind two layers of protective barriers. A central focus of the test was determining 1) if the targeted application of chemicals could “knock back” or reduce aquatic weed biomass (which it did effectively in year one), and 2) if the knock-back could be sustained with non-chemical methods (which was partially achieved).
Hundreds of thousands of data points were collected during the CMT, including under very different water levels, environmental and climatic conditions. Analysis of this data rendered key project takeaways — including successes and cautionary notes — which were included in a comprehensive final report and shared with the public during a webinar hosted in July 2025 by the project partners, including Keep Tahoe Blue.
What’s next:
Next, the project team will invite groups of experts to drill down on several specific questions that came up through analysis of the project data. This series of focused workshops will be conducted through the fall and winter. The combined project learnings will be discussed with the community, water managers, conservationists, and scientists from inside and outside Tahoe at a public science symposium in 2026, hosted at Keep Tahoe Blue’s Spurlock/Evers Environment & Education Center. This deep dive into the project’s results will ultimately shape a long-term plan to manage and control aquatic invasive species in the Tahoe Keys, to prevent impacts on the Lake's water quality and clarity.
In the meantime, Keep Tahoe Blue and project partners are focused on containing aquatic invasive weed fragments within the Tahoe Keys lagoons using a variety of methods, including bubble curtains, fragment catch devices, dedicated boats and staff to skim fragments, Boat Back-Up Stations, and public education. What’s Keep Tahoe Blue's position? SUPPORT:
Aquatic invasive species are the single largest ecological threat to Lake Tahoe and must be contained. Keep Tahoe Blue has been heavily involved in all aspects of the CMT, from designing the project's tests to funding adaptive management and non-chemical treatments, and watching closely to ensure all methods were executed safely and with long-term invasive species control and containment at the forefront. It has been our priority to ensure that the process is guided by and adheres to the best available science to protect Tahoe’s water quality.
We support the CMT because the status quo has failed to control the problem, the CMT has a firm foundation in the best available science, and the test’s findings will help inform a long-term invasive weed control strategy to protect water quality and clarity. Climate connection:
Climate change is creating a more hospitable habitat for aquatic invasive species and harmful algal blooms in Lake Tahoe. Prolonged drought lowers Tahoe’s water level, expanding areas of shallow water that warm easily — especially in elevated air temperatures — and allows for invasive weeds to flourish. More information: |
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Village at Palisades Tahoe Legal Settlement |
What is it:
The Village at Palisades Tahoe development project was first introduced in 2011. In 2014, a revised and reduced project plan called for creating 850 condo and hotel units with 1,493 bedrooms and a 90,000-square-foot mountain activity center in Olympic Valley. In 2016, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the project. It was then sued by local conservation nonprofit Sierra Watch, citing violations of the California Environmental Quality Act. A lower court sided with the County, but Sierra Watch appealed, and in 2021, it won on several of its claims, including a lack of analysis and mitigation for impacts to Lake Tahoe. The ruling forced Placer County to decertify the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The owners of Palisades Tahoe, Alterra Mountain Company, chose to revise the EIR and cure the deficiencies noted by the appellate court, but it did so without making any meaningful changes to the project’s size, scope, or projected impacts. The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the project in November 2024. In December 2024, Keep Tahoe Blue joined Sierra Watch in filing suit against the project. Our objection centered on the thousands of new daily car trips the project would generate and the impacts of that new traffic on Tahoe’s water quality and clarity due to tailpipe emissions, roadway erosion, and runoff into the Lake.
Where is it in the process:
Following the filing of the December 2024 lawsuit, representatives from Keep Tahoe Blue, Sierra Watch, Alterra Mountain Company (Alterra), and Palisades Tahoe Resort (Palisades) met numerous times over six months in early 2025 to discuss the possibility of a settlement. On July 8, the groups announced that they reached an agreement to limit and cap future development at the resort, ending the lawsuit. The agreement spelled out material changes to the project’s size and scope, including: reducing total bedrooms by 40%, reducing total new commercial space by 20%, permanently eliminating the possibility of an indoor waterpark, and protecting land at the base of Shirley Canyon from development in perpetuity. Furthermore, Alterra and Palisades agreed to construct nearly all previously proposed workforce housing, despite the overall reduction in the project’s size. Key to Keep Tahoe Blue’s mission, the agreement cuts upwards of 38% of daily car trips, preventing more traffic, air pollution, and water pollution that would have threatened the Lake’s water quality and clarity.
What’s next:
Palisades must now revise their project application to reflect the stipulations in the settlement agreement and resubmit it to Placer County. The revised project will then move through a normal process of development review and public hearings before the Placer County Board of Supervisors can vote to approve or deny it. While the revised project has not yet been submitted, the review and approval process is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Construction could then begin, likely no earlier than 2027.
What’s Keep Tahoe Blue's position? SUPPORT:
Keep Tahoe Blue is satisfied with the result of the settlement agreement, which will uplift the social, economic, and environmental needs of Olympic Valley and the Tahoe-Truckee region. It also reflects our unique approach as a science-based and solutions-oriented organization, committed to finding ways to achieve our mission.
The Village at Palisades Tahoe project is located several miles outside of the Tahoe Basin’s boundary and, therefore, technically beyond the jurisdiction of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s strict rules for environmental protection. Keep Tahoe Blue recognizes that Tahoe’s delicate natural environment can be damaged by forces that start outside of the Basin, including wildfire, aquatic invasive species, and in this case, development. As part of our 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, Keep Tahoe Blue has embraced the imperative to think, plan and act Bigger Than Tahoe to ensure the Lake is properly conserved.
Climate connection:
Car traffic on Tahoe’s roads triggers erosion and runoff, as well as releases tailpipe emissions that are known to impact Lake Tahoe’s water clarity and accelerate climate change.
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Reorganization of the USDA Forest Service
Federal Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a memo outlining a plan to reorganize the Forest Service with the stated goals of increasing efficiency and reducing redundancies. The Forest Service’s Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, which manages more than 75% of the Tahoe Basin and is key to protecting Tahoe, is subject to the proposed changes. We’re tracking closely to understand the possible effects and to take steps to keep the current environmental protections and management scheme in place.
Roadless Rule
The United States Department of Agriculture announced plans to rescind portions of the “roadless rule” that was established in the 1990s to prevent logging in certain areas of National Forest. Portions of Tahoe could be opened to road construction, which may generate erosion and runoff into the Lake, as 23% of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is located within designated roadless areas. Our team is engaged to keep water quality protection at the forefront.
Streamlining of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
A recent administrative action at the federal level has narrowed the scope of NEPA, including the consideration of cumulative impacts from projects. At the state level, a policy change could also curtail CEQA protections for certain wildfire and restoration projects. We will continue to push for Tahoe’s environmental protections to remain in place. |
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We love you, Lake Tahoe
Meet five Gauchos who are leveraging their expertise — and their UCSB education — to protect one of the nation’s most iconic alpine lakes Spring/Summer 2025 UC Santa Barbara Magazine |
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